LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 



Sl^. ©opqrf^ !in.- 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



Elijah Vindicated; 



OR, 



THE ANSWER BY FIRE, 



Rev. J. 0. A. Clark, D.D., LLD., 

Of the South Georgia Conference, Methodist Episcopal Church, South ; Editor 
of " The Wesley Memorial Volume.'* 



. MA. 13 



Nashville, Tenn. : 
Southern Methodist Publishing House 



1888. 

!50 






Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1886, 

By the Book Agents of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, 

in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 



PREFACE. 

The author, believing that the contest waged on Car- 
mel in the days of Elijah the Tishbite between the Baalim 
and the Personal God of Israel is still going on, sends forth 
the present work with the prayer that the God who answers 
by fire will attend it in demonstration of the Spirit and of 
power, and use it to promote the glory of his name, and 
extend the triumphs of his Son. No one, we are persuaded, 
will blame the largeness of the prayer who knows that 
"God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to con- 
found the wise," and " the weak things of the world' to 
confound the things which are mighty;" and that it is not 
by might, nor by power, but by his Spirit. 

This book is written not to magnify Elijah, but Him 
who is the brightness of the Father's glory, and the ex- 
press image of his being, essence, or essential nature. Per- 
suaded that he, who by fire answered his prophet on Carmel 
and by the baptism of the Spirit his apostles on Pentecost, 
is the only-begotten and well-beloved Son — proclaimed to 
be such at his baptism in Jordan and at his transfiguration 
on the mount — to him, and to the Church purchased with 
his own most precious blood, the author consecrates this his 
labor of love, with the prayer that he may soon confound 
and triumph over all the forms of Baalism, and be crowned, 
by all on earth and all in heaven. King of kings and 
Lord of lords. 

(3) 



INTRODUCTION. 

Among the most valuable, because the most durable, 
products of modern research and investigation are those 
rapidly accumulating works which tend to explain and 
illustrate the historical parts of the Bible. The effort to 
recover all the geographical data concerning the Holy 
Land has been crowned with great success. Unexpected 
confirmations of Biblical statements have added invaluable 
material for the use of the defenders of inspiration, and 
painstaking laborers are constantly increasing the obliga- 
tions we owe to public spirit and to private enterprise. 

Availing himself of the latest information concerning 
the Palestine of the theocratic and royal periods, the author 
of this volume has produced a book which unites all the 
interest of a thrilling narrative with the moral and spirit- 
ual instruction usually found in a purely didactic work. 
He endeavors to give a picture of the times, the men, and 
the customs which will always be essential to the thorough 
appreciation of Biblical characters. With scholarly pre- 
cision and exactness he combines a refined and poetical 
taste, which seizes upon the beautiful, the picturesque, and 
the impressive, and reads a lesson of value from every in- 
cident in the life of the noble Prophet of Carmel. 

Dr. Clark joins issue with those who have underesti- 
mated, if they have not misrepresented, the bold, unfalter- 
ing, and consistent character of the prophet. He defends 
him with skill and, the reader will acknowledge, with suc- 
cess against the charge of unmanly weakness which has 

(5) 



6 INTRODUCTION. 



been made against Elijah. In this book the prophet ap- 
pears not as a reed, to be bent and overcome by the press- 
ure of untoward circumstances, but as a sturdy oak, whose 
roots are centered in a foundation not to be removed, and 
which in the face of every storm abides undisturbed and 
immovable. 

It is with no ordinary pleasure that we commend to the 
reading public a volume that will at once instruct the 
mind and improve the heart. 

W. P. Harrison, Booh Editor 

Nashville, November, 1886. 



CONTENTS. 



CuAPTEK. Page. 

I. The Tishbite 9-15 

II. Baal and Ashtoreth 16-21 

III. The Baalim 22-33 

IV. Elijah's First Appearance to Ahab 34-38 

V. Cherith 39-42 

VI. The Ravens 43-53 

VII. Elijah at Cherith , ... 54-65 

VIII. Zarephath 66-79 

IX. Elijah Goes to Zarephath 80-91 

X. The Widow Woman 92-lOS 

XI. Life at Zarephath 104-116 

XII. Elijah Leaves Zarephath 117-122 

XIII. Obadiah 123-138 

XIV. Charge and Counter-charge 139-149 

XV. Carmel 150-167 

XVI. The Great Question 168-185 

XVII. The Contest 186-194 

XVIII. The Answer by Fire 195-210 

XIX. The Kishon 211-222 

XX. Prayer and Answer 223-240 

XXI. Objections Answered 241-260 

XXII. Faith's Discoveries 261-287 

(7) 



CONTENTS, 



CHA.PTKR. Page. 

XXIII. Jezebel 288-309 

XXIV. From Jezreel to the Juniper 310-324 

XXV. Under the Juniper 325-334 

XXVI. Elijah on Horeb 335-351 

XXVII. Elijah's Failings 352-364 

XXVIII. Elisha of Abel-meholah 365-375 

XXIX. From Horeb to Tabor 376-399 



Elijah Vindicated. 

CHAPTER I. 

THE TISHBITE. • 

ELIJAH came upon the world like an apparition; he 
went out of it in grandeur like a god. Among the 
greatest of the human race, whom God raised up to accom- 
plish his designs, there has not been a greater than Elijah 
the Tishbite. Our blessed Lord, speaking of John the Bap- 
tist, tells us that among those born of woman there had not 
arisen a greater than the son of Zacharias. If our Lord 
had not affirmed this of his forerunner, we would have 
been prepared to infer it, and to believe it, from what the 
angel said to his aged father, when, standing on the right 
side of the altar of incense, Gabriel announced to Zacha- 
rias that John should go before the Lord God of Israel "in 
the spirit and power of Elias." But, however this may be, 
Elijah was unquestionably the greatest of the Old Testa- 
ment prophets ; and he was the most unique of all, either 
under the old or the new dispensation, who, by inspiration 
of God, left the deepest trace upon his Church. He was 
the most unique of all in person, in his habits of life, in 
character, in the grandeur of his miracles and manner of 
their performance, and in his entrance upon his work and 
departure from it. 

The first notice we have that such a man was in exist- 
ence is thus told: "And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the 
inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the Lord God of 

(9) 



10 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not he dew nor 
rain these years, hut according to my word.'' He is Elijah 
the Tishhite! What does this designation mean? Is it a 
patronymic? and was there any other who was so called? 
Was it an appellation of Elijah alone? Was he so named 
because of its appropriateness to his work? to something 
that he had done, or to something in his character or hab- 
its? If there was no country, or city, or village from 
which the designation was received, w^as it taken from 
some unknown and isolated spot where Elijah was born? 
was it the name of his own home? of his own dwelling, or 
of some secret cave in Gilead, where he led a lonely and 
recluse life? No one can answer. All is conjecture. We 
know some suppose it was the same as the place in Naph- 
tali, mentioned in the apocryphal book of Tobit, and 
called Thishe in the Septuagint. But the book of Tobit was 
not written until about two hundred years after Elijah's 
time. There is no evidence, therefore, that in Elijah's day 
there was in existence such a place as the place of Naph- 
tali; for the town in Naphtali — mentioned only in Tobit, 
and that but once — may have derived its name from the 
prophet, and not the prophet his designation from it. The 
Septuagint translators, in 1 Kings xvii. 1, thus introduce 
Elijah : "Kai e:-£v ^HXtoh 6 7zpoc>rJTrjq Oeafi^LT-qq 6 ix 0t<T(id)v rT^q 
raXaad—'ihQ Thesbite, who is of Thesbe of Gilead.' " If 
this Thesbe was in Gilead, it was not the same as Thishe in 
Naphtali, for the names are spelled differently by the eanie 
translators, and the tribe of Naphtali had no inheritance in 
Gilead. Gilead was on the east of the Jordan; the pos- 
sessions of Naphtali were on the west, extending south to 
north from the Lake Chinnereth to the spurs of Lebanon, 
and east to west from the Jordan to the borders of Asher. 

Neither can we see any appropriateness in the meaninsfs — 
that " makes captives," that " turns back," that " recalls," or 



THE TISHBITE. 11 



that "dwells" — which have been assigned to the prophet's 
appellation. Nor do we know that it means " the reformer," 
as some have supposed. Elijah was indeed a reformer ; and 
this fact, we suspect, was father to the thought that gave such 
interpretation to the prophet's designation. Whatever its 
meaning, it is as unknown to us as are the names of Eli- 
jah's father and mother. Where all is conjecture, we 
will not venture an opinion. The very designation of the 
prophet is a part of the impenetrable mystery in which 
all his life, before his appearing to Ahab, is designedly 
shrouded. 

But he was "of the inhabitants of Gilead" — thus says 
King James's Version. Where Gilead was we know. It was 
east of the Jordan, and it was the possession of Keuben, 
Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. And w^e know some- 
thing of the nature of the country, and something of the 
character of the inhabitants. It was a mountainous coun- 
try, "a hard, rocky region," as the name implies; and its 
inhabitants were as hard and rugged as the rocks of its 
mountains. But the saying, He was "of the inhabitants of 
Gilead," does not necessarily inform us that Gilead was his 
birthplace, or that he was descended from one of the tribes 
to which Gilead w'as assigned. He may have been born 
elsewhere — in Thisbe of Naphtali, it may be — and after- 
ward made Gilead his dwelling-place ; or, if born in Gilead, 
he may have been born of parents who belonged to some 
other tribe whose inheritance was on the west of the Jordan. 
The Revised Version translates, "who was of the sojourners 
of Gilead." If this be the true rendering, it may mean 
that the prophet was not a permanent inhabitant, but a 
temporary resident; and how long detained in that "ob- 
scure sojourn," no one is able to tell. But wherever born, 
though no mention is made of his parents or tribe, the 
prophet, doubtless, was a lineal descendant of Abraham^ 



12 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

and " a Hebrew of the Hebrews." What, then, in the ab- 
sence of positive knowledge, is the inference from the say- 
ing, He was " of the inhabitants of Gilead ? " While it may 
be true the prophet w^as born in Gilead, or, having been 
born elsewhere, had taken up his abode there, and so had 
become one ot its inhabitants, it is certain he was of " the 
inhabitants of Gilead" in the sense that his character and 
habits of life possessed certain characteristics of the Gilead- 
ites — that he was as hard and rugged as they, as flinty and 
enduring as their rocks. 

It has been said that an inhabitant of Gilead, in the days 
of Elijah, was to an inhabitant of Judea, or Samaria, as a 
Highlander in Scotland to a Lowlander in the days of the 
Great Marquis Montrose. Elijah was indeed the most 
weird-like, the most romantic of all the characters of the 
sacred Scriptures. As weird-like as Meg Merrilies in " Guy 
Mannering," or as Noma of the Fitful Head in " The Pirate," 
was Elijah among inspired men in the Book of God. And 
yet, unique as he was, there were at least two characters 
in the sacred narrative who bore some resemblance to the 
Tishbite. The Baptist, whose raiment of camel's hair was 
girded by a leathern girdle about his loins, on whose head 
no razor was ever used, and whose meat was locusts and 
wild honey, bore a striking likeness to the Tishbite, with his 
coarse sheop-skin mantle, and leathern girdle, and shaggy 
hair. The Tishbite, like the Baptist after him, was se- 
cluded in his habits, simple in his tastes, austere in his life, 
and mingled not in the haunts of men. Except the time 
spent under the humble roof of the widow woman of Zar- 
ephath, Elijah's abode, so far as we know, was ever some 
mountain-cave, or some rocky dell by pebbled brook or 
shaded spring. And there is another who bears some 
marked resemblance to the Tishbite. There are certain 
things about the prophet which at once suggest the name 



THE TISHBITE. 13 



of Melchisedec. Like that mysterious King of Salem, and 
priest of the Most High God, neither father nor mother, 
nor descent, nor beginning of days nor end of life, has been 
assigned to Elijah. There is no record of the prophet's 
parents. Whoever they were, they have no place in the 
genealogical tables of the Hebrews. And though, in all 
probability, not of the tribe of Levi — to which tribe alone 
belonged the priesthood — Elijah, like Melchisedec, and in 
that respect like Samuel also, was a priest, as well as a 
prophet of Jehovah. For what was the sacrifice on Car- 
mel but a priestly sacrifice? 

And what was Elijah's training for the work to which 
he was called? Elijah trained Elisha; but who trained 
Elijah? We know Abraham's father, and we know his 
history from his call out of Ur of Chaldees, till his sons, 
Isaac and Ishmael, buried him in the cave of Machpelah. 
The story of Moses's life is familiar to us from the cradle of 
bulrushes, laid in the flags by the river's brink, until the 
Lord " buried him in a valley in the land of Moab." We 
follow Samuel from the time Elkanah brought him to the 
house of the Lord in Shiloh till all Israel "buried him in 
his own house at Ramah." We know David from the 
sheep-fold to the sepulcher on Mount Zion. We know the 
story of the Baptist from the message of Gabriel to Zacha- 
rias till he was beheaded in prison by King Herod. And 
we know much, and may infer much more, of the life of 
St. Paul, from his childhood in Tarsus, on the banks of the 
Cydnus, till his martyrdom in Rome. And so too with 
many other illustrious worthies of the Old and New Testa- 
ment Scriptures. But about Elijah, before his appearing 
to Ahab, we know absolutely nothing. 

Again, Elijah was unique in his manner of announcing 
the commands or messages of Jehovah. Call to remem- 
brance the announcement to Ahab : "As the Lord God of 



14 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 



Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor 
rain these years, but according to my word.'' But according 
to my word ! The prophet is not repeating a message which 
he has received from God in the very words of God. He 
does not introduce the message with a ''Thus saith the 
Lord," and then give the very words of Jehovah. Elijah 
uses neither the oratio directa nor the oratio obliqua; neither 
the precise words of God directly nor their substance indi- 
rectly. He does not say, giving Jehovah's very words, " 'As 
Hive,' saith the Lord God of Israel, ' there shall be neither deiv 
nor rain these years, but according to my word' " Nor does 
he say, stating the words of God indirectly, "The Lord God 
of Israel swears that, as he liveth, there shall neither be 
dew nor rain these years, but according to his word." Eli- 
jah speaks to Ahab by neither of these methods. For the 
words which he speaks he speaks as if they were his own, 
and not Jehovah's. He speaks, doubtless, by Jehovah's 
authority, and by Jehovah's inspiration. But he swears 
by the Lord God of Israel that the words which he speaks 
as his own are true. He calls the self-existent and ever- 
living God, in whose presence he consciously stands, to wit- 
ness to the truth of what he says to Ahab, invoking the 
wrath and curse of the Almighty upon his own head if 
he speak falsely and prove to be no true prophet. For 
all this is meant when one swears by Jehovah ; and it was 
thus Elijah swore. "As truly," he swears, " as the Lord 
God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, I, Elijah the 
Tishbite, call Jehovah to witness that, according to my 
word, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, and that, 
according to my word alone, shall they return to the earth." 
What daring impiety! what wicked presumption! if Elijah 
be no true prophet, and if he speak not by inspiration of 
God. But what exaltation of his prophet, if Jehovah made 
the dew and rain for years to depend upon his prophet's 



THE TISHBITE. 15 



word ! And what sublime and heroic faith has the prophet, 
to swear that, according to his word, the dew and rain 
should cease, and that not until he spoke the word should 
they return to the earth! For much easier was it, and 
much less of faith did it require, to deliver, directly or in- 
.directly, the very words of God, and to leave their fulfill- 
ment to some word which God himself must speak, and 
not to some word which the prophet must utter. Grand 
prophet of God! Grand, in that faith and courage were 
equal to the momentous test to which Israel's God subjected 
them. 



CHAPTER II. 

BAAL AND ASHTORETH. 

ELIJAH appears at the most critical period in the his- 
tory of the kingdom of Israel. Ahab, seventh king 
of Israel, had married Jezebel, daughter of Ethbaal, King 
of Tyre and Sidon, and priest of Baal. The six kings of 
Israel who went before him were very wicked and idolatrous 
kings- ^^But there was none like wito Ahab, which did sell 
himself to work wickedness in the sight of the Lord, whom 
Jezebel his wife stirred up." This Phenician princess, whose 
name is a synonym for all that is imperious^ cruel, and vin- 
dictive, was bent on introducing the idolatrous worship of 
her father into the kingdom of her husband. To accom- 
plish her purpose, she scrupled not at the means. It seemed 
to her an easy task to mold the pliant king to her wishes. 
She succeeded so far as to prevail on her husband to make 
the gods of Phenicia gods of Israel, and the worship of 
Baal and Ashtoreth the supreme worship of himself, and 
of his court and people ; and to wink at, if he did not ap- 
prove, her purpose to dethrone the Lord God of Israel, and 
exterminate his worship. Hence the prophets of Jeho- 
vah — except the one hundred whom the good Obadiah 
hid in a cave and secretly fed — were slain, and his altars 
thrown down. The priests of Baal and Ashtoreth became 
the established and pampered ministers of the religion of 
the State; everywhere incense was offered upon their al- 
tars ; suppliant knees bowed down before, and impious lips 
kissed, the images of these gods of Tyre and Sidon. It will 
thus be seen that the sin of Ahab went much farther than 
the sin of Jeroboam, and the sins of the five kings who 
16 



BAAL AND ASHTORETH. 17 

succeeded the latter — Nadab, and Baasha, and Elah, and 
Ziniri, and Omri. When Jeroboam revolted against Reho- 
boam, the sou and successor of Solomon, and established 
the separate kingdom of Israel, fearing, if the ten tribes 
went up to do sacrifice in the house of the Lord at Jerusa- 
lem, that their hearts would turn again to their former 
king, and that they would kill him and go over to the King 
of Judp.h, he made two calves of gold, and set up one in 
Bethel, and put the other in Dan, saying: ^'It is too much 
for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, 
which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt" By this 
act Jeroboam did no more than Aaron, who, while Moses 
delayed in the mount, made, out of the golden ear-rings of 
the wives and sons and daughters of the people, a molten 
calf, and, with his own hands, fashioned it with a graving- 
tool. The formula, or ritual, which Jeroboam used when 
he set up the calves in Bethel and Dan was the same which 
Aaron employed when he set up the molten image before 
Horeb. ^^ These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee 
up out of the land of Egypt," was Aaron's formula before 
the molten image at Horeb ; it was, as we have seen, Jero- 
boam's before the calves in Bethel and Dan. 

Neither did Jeroboam, nor Aaron before him, intend, by 
the golden calves, to supplant the worship of Jehovah, or 
to set up any other god before the Lord God of Israel. 
The golden calves both Jeroboam and Aaron meant to be 
but representative figures of Jehovah, and symbolic images 
of his person and divinity. In Jeroboam's case, the gold- 
en images had also a special political significance. Well 
knowing with what religious veneration and pride every 
pious Hebrew regarded the magnificent temple of Jehovah 
on Mount Zion, and how their imaginations were impressed 
and inflamed by the splendid ritual observed in its wor- 
ship, the King of Israel was afraid these things would lead 
2 



18 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

his people to make frequent pilgrimages to Jerusalem, and 
draw their hearts back again to its king. To prevent this, 
and to destroy the spiritual as he had destroyed the polit- 
ical unity of the kingdom of David and Solomon, one of 
the calves Jeroboam set up in Dan, tne extreme northern 
limit of the new kingdom of Israel, and the other in Betliel, 
on its extreme southern boundary, twelve miles from Jerusa- 
lem. These seats of religious worship it was his purpose to 
make national, and so to build them up ^nd adorn them 
that they might rival, if not surpass, the splendid tem- 
ple which David planned and Solornqn built. It was on 
Bethel Jeroboam seems most to have relied to effect his ob- 
ject; for it was a place most venerable by its antiquity, 
and by its sacred and historic associations. It had, of old, 
been venerated as the house of God, and the gate of heaven. 
It was there, in a dream by night, Jacob had his vision of 
God while on his way to seek his Avife in Haran; and it 
was there he set up the stone on which he had slept, and on 
which he poured the oil, consecrating it to the worship 
of the God of his fathers; it was there, on his return from 
Padan-aram, he received the special blessing of Jehovah, 
and had his name changed to Israel. It was there, before 
there was a king in Israel, the people went up to seek coun- 
sel of God ; it was there the ark of the covenant of God 
was deposited in the days of Phineas ; and it was there Samuel 
held one of his itinerant courts in his annual circuit, judg- 
ing the twelve tribes of Israel. 

It was by such means Jeroboam aimed to build up the 
new and rival kingdom of Israel, and establish himself 
firmly on its throne. In all this his purpose was not to 
dethrone Jehovah, or to supplant his worship by another. 
He intended Dan and Bethel to be seats of Jehovah s wor- 
ship, just as Shiloh had been the seat of his tabernacle, and 
as Jerusalem was then the seat of his temple. But as the 



BAAL AND ASHTORETH. 19 

molten calf, which Aaron set up before Horeb, became an 
object of idolatrous worship, so likewise the golden calves 
which Jeroboam placed in Dan and Bethel received divine 
honors. And as God was angry with the people because 
they worshiped Aaron's molten calf, and offered burnt-of- 
lerings upon its altar, so too was his wrath kindled against 
those who worshiped and offered sacrifices to Jeroboam's 
golden images. And he was wroth with both, because both 
had broken the second commandment of the Lord their God, 
which says: '^Thou shall not make unto thee any graven im- 
age, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or 
that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the 
earth; thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve 
them; for I the Lord thy Of)d am a jealous God, visiting the 
iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and 
fourth generation of them that hate me, and shelving mercy 
unto thousands of them that love me and keep my command- 
ments" 

But while this was so, and the sin of Jeroboam, and the 
sin of Aaron, was very great, yet neither, we repeat, pur- 
posed to proclaim another God and introduce his worship. 
This is what Ahab did. That daring and impious king not 
only violated the second, but presumptuously broke the 
first commandment: "Thou shalt have no other gods before 
me.'' By the superior worship paid to Baal and Ashtoreth ; 
by the higher honors given to the priests of these false 
Phenician gods ; by the persecution and slaughter of the 
prophets of Jehovah, and the overthrow of his altars, Ahab 
not only put Baal and Ashtoreth on an equality with the 
God of Israel, but exalted them above him. His object was 
not to refuse divinity to Jehovah, but to deny his supreme 
godhead as the only living and true God of the universe, 
besides whom there is none other. He was willing to as- 
sign him a place in the Pantheon of gods, but would not 



rO ELIJAH VIKDICATED. 



allow he was the only Supreme Being, to whom alone wor- 
ship must be paid. He might be as Bel in Assyria, or Osiris 
in Egypt, or Jove in Greece, the supreme tutelary divin- 
ity of the rival kingdom of Judah, or of any other that 
might elect him to be the supreme object of divine worship. 
But he was resolved, whatever Jehovah's rank in other 
kingdoms, he should not have the supreme but a subordi- 
nate place in the kingdom of Israel Who should be su- 
preme God in Samaria, Ahab claimed it was his sole pre- 
rogative to determine. And as he preferred the gods of 
Phenicia, he proclaimed the gods of his queen to be the 
supreme divinities of Israel, and that in his realm Baal 
and Ashtoreth should divide the sovereignty between them. 
Baal, and his priests, he took under his own immediate care ; 
Ashtoreth, and her priests, he left to the care of Jezebel; 
both Baal and Ashtoreth, their priests and their worship, 
he kept under his kingly protection. How far Jezebel ap- 
proved a plan which permitted divine worship, though sub- 
ordinate to the worship of her country's gods, to be paid to 
the God of the people of her husband and king, we have 
no means of knowing. A part of this arrangement, no 
doubt, met her heartiest approval — the exaltation of Baal 
and Ashtoreth above the God of the Hebrews. But to that 
part of the comprehension which allowed divinity to the 
God of Abraham she yielded, if she yielded at all, a re- 
luctant consent; for it was, without dispute, her desire to 
grant him no share whatever in divine worship. It was 
rather the design of this restless, ambitious, and idolatrous 
woman to dethrone Jehovah in Samaria altogether, to de- 
stroy his worshipers, and to utterly root out .his service. 
But in this extreme view, she could neither carry with her 
the Hebrew subjects of the king, her husband, nor the king 
himself Wicked as Ahab was, idolatrous as he was, and 
as much as his pliant mind was under the sway of his 



BAAL AND ASHTORETH. 21 

haughty, strong-minde-d, and unscrupulous wife, he still re- 
tained, as governor of his house, the good Obadiah, who 
refused to worship Baal. Nor could Ahab so far forget the 
past history of his race, and the wonderful and miraculous 
})rovidences of the Lord God of hosts in their behalf, as to 
deny all divinity to him who, with his strong right-arm, 
had brought his fathers out of their house of bondage in 
Goshen. And as to the people whom he ruled, it was im- 
possible for them to blot out of their memories all recollec- 
tion of the wonders which the Lord God of their fathers 
had wrought, of old, in Egypt, at the Red Sea, and in the 
wilderness of Sinai. All that Ahab, therefore, could hope 
to do was to bring them to acknowledge that there were 
other gods besides Jehovah, and that Baal and Ashtoreth, 
gods of the Zidonians, were gods as well as he. But to 
which — whether to Baal and Ashtoreth, or to Jehovah — 
the supreme divine sovereignty was due, the great mass of 
Ahab's Hebrew subjects were at a loss to decide. They 
Avere willing to pay divine honors to Baal and Ashtoreth, but 
not to them exclusively. Indeed, they halted between two 
opinions; they hesitated to determine which was supreme. 
Admitting both Baal and Jehovah to be gods, they wor- 
shiped both, and sought to unite their worship. It seems 
they went farther, and aimed at a union of personality be- 
tween them, and worshiped both in one, under the name of 
Jehovah-Baal. We shall see this thought more clearly de- 
veloped when we come to the question which Elijah put to 
assembled Israel on Mount Carmel : ''How long halt ye he- 
fiveen two opinions f if the Lord he Ood, follow him; hut if 
Baal, then follow him.^' 



CHAPTER III. 

THE BAALIM. 

BUT we must not suppose the worship of Baal and Ash- 
toreth was a new and unheard-of thing in Israel uil- 
til introduced by Ahab and Jezebel. Even in Moses's day- 
many of the children of Israel, beguiled by the Moabites 
and Midianites, joined themselves unto their god Baal-peor, 
attended on his sacrifices, and bowed down before his im- 
age. Against these Hebrew idolaters the anger of the 
Lord God was kindled ; four and twenty thousand of them 
perished by a plague. But, notwithstanding this signal 
display of divine wrath against their idolatry, the next 
generation returned to the worship of the tutelary god of 
Moab and Midian. In the days of the Judges " the chil- 
dren of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord, and 
served Baalim and Ashtaroth, and the gods of Syria, and 
the gods of Zidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods of 
the children of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines^ 
And this idolatry continued more or less prevalent in Israel 
— except during the judgeship of Gideon — till Samuel, hav- 
ing prevailed on the people to return to the God of their 
fathers, banished it from the land. 

From this it will be seen the worship of Baal and Ash- 
to reth was observed in Israel long before the times of Eli- 
jah. The religion of these gods was an old religion. It 
was at least contemporary with the law given to Moses on 
Sinai; it doubtless existed years before his day, though not 
always called by the same name, nor always presenting the 
same modifications. Indeed, in different countries, and in 
(22) 



THE BAALIM. 23 



different parts of the same country, it was known by differ- 
ent names, or by different modifications of the same name. 
Baal, lord or master, was supreme, and is universally rec- 
ognized to be the sun-god. But Baal was called by differ- 
ent names, and under different modifications of attributes 
and symbols. At Shechem he was Baal-berith, the covenant 
lord ; in Moab and Midian he was Baal-peor, so called, it 
is thought, from Mount Peor in Moab ; in Ekron he was 
Baal-zebub, the god of flies. Baal was also prefixed to 
the names of several different places, as Baal-gad, near 
Mount Hermon, and Baal-hazor, "where Absalom kept 
his flocks and held his sheep-shearing feast." The god of 
the Phenicians was Baal-shamen, or Baal-shamayim, lord 
of the heavens^ and Baal-melkarth, the king of the city. 
Baal-chamman also, the lord of heat, is found on Pheni- 
cian inscriptions; and there are still other tribal modifica- 
tions of the name. Baal, the supreme lord of the Zidonians, 
is probably always meant in the sacred Scriptures whenever 
Baal is used by itself. The seat of Baal-melkarth was at 
Tyre, where Hiram, the Tyrian king, built him a splen- 
did temple, which, like the contemporary temple of Jeho- 
vah he aided Solomon in building at Jerusalem, was adorned 
with the costly gifts of many nations. In the Hebrew 
Scriptures the Phenician Baal also has the article prefixed, 
and is the Baal. The plural also appears, and with the 
article — the Baalim — and when so used it is associated with 
Ashtaroth, the plural of Ashtoreth ; and then the Baalim 
is a general designation to include all the heathen gods 
known to the Hebrews, whatever their distinctive titles or 
modifications of characteristics and emblems. 

Baal — and its modifications likewise — was always mas- 
culine, and never represented a female divinity. Ashto- 
reth was the name which designated the goddess of the old 
Canaanites, the Syrians, the Phenicians, and the heathen 



24 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

Hebrews. Baal was the sun; Asbtoreth was the mooa 
Ashtoreth is the singular ; Ashtaroth is the plural. Ashera 
also occurs, and is supposed by many to be identical with 
Ashtoreth ; others think that Ashera is the goddess of the 
Southern, and Ashtoreth the goddess of the Northern 
Canaanites. It is said that Ashera generally, and Ashto- 
reth sometimes, is associated with the singular Baal; but 
Ashtaroth is always found with the plural Baalim. The 
translators of the Hebrew in our Authorized Version, fol- 
lowing the Septuagint, have perplexed us no little by trans- 
lating Ashera '^ grove.''' In the Revised Version it is un- 
translated. Wherever the word occurs, the Revised Ver- 
sion takes it to be the name of the Zidonian goddess. There 
are those who claim that Ashtoreth is the proper name of 
the goddess, and that Ashera is the designation of the idol, 
or symbol. However this may be, Ashera and Ashtoreth 
were either one and the same, or, if diiferent divinities, 
were the chief goddesses of the ancient Oriental heathen, 
w^hether these heathen were Gentiles or Hebrews. The 
only difference, if any, we suspect, between Ashera and 
Ashtoreth was that they respectively represented certain 
different modifications of attributes and symbols, while the 
general attributes and symbols were the same in both, the 
special modifications depending mainly, if not altogether, 
on the culture, habits, and morals of their respective vota- 
ries. And this view is confirmed, if it be true, as is claimed, , 
that Ashera represents a foul and Ashtoreth a chaste god- 
dess. As Baal-peor, the god of Moab and Midian, was the 
most sensual of all the modifications of Baal, and his rites 
the most obscene, Ashera, and not Ashtoreth, was the god- 
dess associated with him. But it must be confessed, if Ash- 
toreth was a chaste goddess, she was only such by compari- 
son with Ashera; for the worship of Ashtoreth was not 
unfrequently deformed by the prostitution of unmarried 



THE BAALIM, 25 



girls, and by obscenities that must not be mentioned. A 
like difference is to be noticed in Baal and his followers; 
the only difference in the special modifications of the attri- 
butes and symbols of the god was in the character, aesthetic 
tastes, and culture of the worshipers. Outside of a divine 
revelation, the gods of a people will be no higher than the 
people who serve them. According as the worshipers are 
groveling, sensual, and licentious, or high-minded, spirit- 
ual, and virtuous, so will be the gods they worship. This 
accounts for differences among different peoples in the attri- 
butes and symbols of the same god. There is no question 
but that the Baal of the Phenicians and Carthaginians was 
the Bel us of the Assyrians, the Osiris of the Egyptians, and 
the Apollo of the Greeks. The differences in the attributes 
and symbols of these divinities may be ascribed to certain 
differences in the respective peoples who paid them divine 
honors. Each of these gods — whether Phenician, Assyri- 
an, Egyptian, or Grecian — represented the same generic 
thought. The god, by whatever name called — whether 
Baal, Belus, Osiris, or Apollo— symbolized the male prin- 
ciple of life, the generative force or the creative energy in 
nature. And what has been said of the generic Baal may 
be said of the generic Ashera, or Ashtoreth. As Baal is 
generically the same as, Belus, Osiris, and Apollo, so Ash- 
era, or Ashtoreth, is generically the same as the Ishtar of 
the Assyrians, the Isis of the Egyptians, and the Cytherean 
Aphrodite, or the Paphian Aetarte, of the Greeks. As the 
gods represented the male principle of life, or generative 
power of nature, so the goddesses represented the female 
principle of life, or its fructifying energy. And as the 
gods differed among themselves, so the goddesses differed 
in attributes and symbols, modified by the culture and 
character of their respective worshipers. 

The Assyrians, the Egyptians, and very notably the 



26 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

Greeks, had higher conceptions of Deity than the Zido- 
nians of Tyre and Carthage. The Apollo Belvedere, the 
marble statue of the god found near Antium toward the 
end of the fifteenth century, with its exquisite symmetry, a 
model of intellectual and physical beauty, contrasted with 
the rude and grotesque images of Baal on Phenician coins, 
well represents the difference between the Greek and the 
Zidonian ideal of the sun-god. The Osiris of the Egyptians, 
reclaiming them from barbarism, giving them wise and 
wholesome laws, teaching them agriculture, and spreading 
the blessings of civilization as the Nile^ by the rise and fall 
of its waters, spreads broadcast the fertilizing and harvest- 
bearing soil, was a much higher conception than the Zido- 
nian Baal. And the Assyrian Belus, it is averred, was a 
conception of the divine which thePhenicians never reached ; 
for the x\ssyrians regarded their god as " i.o mere solar or 
planetary god." In the Chaldean cosmcc^ciy, Bel is "the 
shaper of heaven and earth, the creator of men and beasts, 
and of the luminaries of heaven;" in the Phenician, Baal 
is "a mere power of nature, born, like the other lumina- 
ries, from the primitive chaos." 

But what great difference is there between the Assyrian 
and the Phenician god? In the Assyrian cosmogony. Be] 
is the sun-god; so is Baal in the Phenician. The sun is 
the generative power in both; and, therefore, in both the 
sun is god. And the same conclusion is reached whether 
the sun be " the shaper of heaven and earth" or " a mere 
power of nature;" for if the sun as *' a mere power of 
nature" has the same generative force which the sun has 
as " the creator of men and beasts," then the one is just as 
much God as the other. Both alike received the highest 
divine honors, both alike were worshiped through the me- 
dium of images, and both were fachioned into idols by 
men's hands. In Isaiah we may lean what was thought 



THE BAALIM. 



of the Assyrian Bel. Hear the ^vord of the Lord, spoken 
by his prophet Isaiah : ^'Bel boweth down, Neho [the Mer- 
cur}^ of the Greeks and the Anubis of the Egyptians] 
stoopeth; their idols loere upon the beasts, and upon the cat- 
tle ; . . . they are a burden to the weary beast. They stoop^ 
they boio doivn together; they could not deliver the burden, 
but themselves are gone into captivity." Bel and Nebo are 
represented by the Hebrew prophet as unable to bear their 
worshipers. On the contrary, they must themselves be 
borne by beasts of burden, which, wearied, stoop and bow 
down beneath the heavy load of dumb idols on their backs. 
Compare the Lord God of hosts with these dumb and sense- 
less idols of gold and silver, lavished out of the bag and 
weighed in the balances, which the hired goldsmith trans- 
mutes and makes into a god. Listen to the words which 
the God of Israel further speaks by his prophet: "Hearken 
unto me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house 
of Isi'ael, which are borne by me from the belly, ivhich are 
carried from the ivomb ; and even to your old age I am he ; 
and even to hoar hairs will I carry you ; I have made, mid 1 
will bear ; even I will carry, and will deliver you." The 
Assyrian god and the Phenician god had their only exist- 
ence in the dumb and senseless images of wood, or stone, 
or bronze, or silver, or gold. Equally mythical were the 
Egyptian Osiris and the Greek Apollo; equally vain the 
imaginations which conceived them. The only difference 
between even the Apollo of the Greeks and the Baal of 
the Zidonians is the difference between a beautiful statue 
of marble and a rude and shapeless figure of wood. Both 
are insensate, and have no more creative energy than their 
symbols. 

Every claim to creative, generative, or fructifying energy 
outside of the personal Lord God of the Hebrews dethrones 
him, and makes that god in which such energy resides. 



28 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

Whether this force resides in Baal, in Belus, in Osiris, or 
in Apollo; whether the force itself be some mythical per^ 
Bonal god, or "a mere power of nature;" or whether it be 
protoplasm, or molecules, or selfmoved and self-posited 
atoms — if it have creative, generative, fructifying energy, 
it must be very and eternal God. The Lord God of Israel 
is dethroned, and another omnific, almighty, and creative 
God is set up. What the Hebrew Scriptures represent the 
Lord God of Israel as doing by the mere word of his power, 
the God w^ho takes his place has done, by slow processes, 
through eternal ages. But the form of opposition to the 
personal God of the Bible suggested by this remark be- 
longs chiefly to the ancient and modern infidel science. 

The material universe is a fact which /.'omparatively few 
with Berkeley, who arrived at his conclusion from the the- 
ory of Locke, have denied- AVhat we see with our eyes, 
what w^e touch, what we handle with our hands, must be 
no ideal, but real and material things. Matter exists ; and 
to man it has always existed since the first man, whatever 
his origin, came into being. And if the first man was en- 
dowed with intellect, with perception, and with reason, he 
must have asked himself the question. How does matter 
exist? w^hat is its origin? and by what laws is it governed? 
Hence, to account for the existence of matter, and to ascer- 
tain its laws, in all the ages of man, has engrossed human 
thought, and been the object of human inquiry. The He- 
brew Scriptures ascribe its existence to a personal, self-ex- 
istent, self-dependent, absolute, and eternal God. They who 
were without, or who denied a direct revelation from heav- 
en, have either ascribed all matter to chance, or to some 
god of their own imagination, or to some generative power 
of nature, or to some inherent force or energy in the first 
atoms. With these atoms the investigations of infidel sci- 
entists stop; they cannot, they dare not, go beyond them 



THE BAALIM. 29 



and tell us their originu ^yere the first atoms material, 
and only material? and from them are all things produced? 
Then the original atoms had all the creative power ascribed 
to the God of the Hebrew Scriptures. But was this cre- 
ative, generative force not the atoms themselves, but some 
inherent creative energy in the atoms? Then this energy is 
the God who created all things. But w^as there, so to speak, 
but one primordial atom? Then this primordial atom is 
the one supreme God, from which all things — the sun, the 
moon, the stars; all things visible and invisible; all things 
animate and inanimate; all life, vegetable and animal; all 
spirit, all intellect, all thought, are derived. But was there 
in the beginning an infinite number of atoms, or element- 
ary particles, equal iu iiind but unequal in form, each pro- 
ducing genera and species after their respective kinds? 
Then are these gods legion, outnumbering beyond con- 
ception all the gods embraced in all the mythologies of 
the world. No Pantheon of the most liberal Pantheist 
ever had any measurable part as many gods as science. 
But is all this infinite number of atoms not so many differ- 
ent gods, but one indivisible, omnific, and eternal God? 
Then we have a mystery infinitely surpassing the Trinity 
iu Unity of the Holy Scriptures. 

It is not difficult to see how a heathen philosopher, a de- 
vout student of nature, without the knowledge of any direct 
revelation from God, was led to reject the gods of Assyria 
and Egypt, of Pheniciaand Greece. He knew that neither 
6un nor moon nor stars, shining through eternal ages, could 
of themselves create one grain of sand or blade of grass. 
Equally persuaded was he that the heathen gods of his times 
were unable to perform a single creative act. Believing — 
as he did believe — that matter had an indefinite past, and 
knowing that the heathen gods themselves had a beginning 
ascribed to their existence, he was persuaded that the gods 



30 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

of the heathen were no gods. As matter existed, accord- 
ing to his belief, ages before the gods themselves, it was a 
very easy thing for him to believe that there was immeas- 
urably more divinity in matter than in them. And hence 
it was also a very easy thing to conclude that matter is 
eternal, and that it has in itself the generative and creative 
power. 

The first, perhaps, who gave definite form to this opinion 
was Leucippus. When or where that philosopher was born 
is unknown. About B.C. 460 one was born in Abdera in 
Thrace, who, with great force, defended and illustrated the 
teachings of Leucippus. Democritus taught that there is 
in infinite space an infinite number of atoms, " homogene- 
ous in kind but heterogeneous in form;" that these atoms 
combine with one another; that all things arise from the 
infinite variety of these combinations. Hence, too, the al- 
most endless variety of matter in form, in weight, in size, 
in density, in color, and in all its properties. According to 
this cosmical, or atomic, theory, the atoms are the ultimate 
cause of all things— of matter and mind, of body and spirit. 
They are themselves uncaused, and, being uncaused, must 
have existed from all eternity. As they have always been 
in moticm, eternal likewise are their motions. These mo- 
tions have produced the universe. Fire and soul, accord- 
ing to this theory, are of one nature; both are material. 
Hence, when the body dies, the soul perishes with it. There 
is nothing eternal but the atoms and their motions; and 
there is no creative nor generative force but in them. This 
atomic theory had a powerful ally in the Greek Epicurus; 
but the system was afterward most grandly illustrated and 
most eloquently maintained in the De Rerum Natura of 
the Eoman Lucretius, a philosophical work of marvelous 
power and beauty, and confessedly the greatest of didactic 
poems. There is nothing in the universe, he contends, that 



THE BAALIM. 31 



does not admit of explanation, and that too without re- 
course to a supreme personal Creator of all things. 

It is easy to see that all these forms of opposition to the 
God of the Hebrews are modifications of the Baalism of 
Ahab. The contest against a supreme personal God is the 
contest which he waged ; it was the contest which was go- 
ing on years before him, and it is the contest going on at 
this day. This debate has assumed many forms, but it 
has been in all ages one and the same. It is still kept 
up, though the Baal, the Belug, the Osiris, and the Apol- 
k; — and all the other gods, by whatever name called, of 
the ancient Oriental peoples known to the Hebrews, and 
of the Greeks and Romans — have long ago been relegated 
to forgetfulness or oblivion. Indeed, what the Lord God 
predicted by his prophet Hosea came to pass soon after the 
captivity in Babylon — :viz., the abolition of idol-worship 
in Israel : "And it shall be at that day, saith the Lord, that 
thou ahalt call me Ishi \_my husband'] ; and shalt call me no 
more Baali [my lord]. For I will take atvay the names of 
Baalim out of her mouth, and they shall no more be remem- 
bered by their name." And after t.he introduction of Chris- 
tianity, the preaching of Christ and him crucified eventu- 
ally put an end, throughout the Roman Empire, to the old 
idol-worship, to the idols themselves, and to the gods they 
symbolized. But, though " the intelligible forms of ancient 
poets" and "the fair humanities of old religion" have long 
ago " vanished," and live no longer in the " faith of reason," 
yet the old philosophy of Leucippus and Democritus, of 
Epicurus and Lucretius, still survives and wages relent- 
less war against the personal God of the Bible. In our 
day this war has been renewed with great daring and ac- 
tivity. Great names in science have arisen to renew and 
press forward the combat begun ages agone by infidel Greek 
and Roman. scientists. These modern doughty champions 



32 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 



of the old atomic theorists, having refurbished the old and 
rusty armor of their Greek and Roman masters, full pano- 
plied in it, have defied the God of Israel, and challenged 
him to mortal combat. They come with no new W'eapons 
to champion the fight, for there is nothing new in theory 
or argument; to originality they have no claim. Like 
their great Greek and Roman masters, while they deny an 
intelligent, personal God, they advocate gods many, who 
have, as we have before said, all the creative power ever 
ascribed to the God of Israel. And though no worshipers 
of the Baal of Ahab and Jezebel, they worship the Baalim. 
They cannot, it is true, symbolize their gods, as Ahab and 
Jezebel symbolized theirs, by images which they might 
worship and kiss with their lips; for the gods of these mod- 
ern infidel scientists are atoms infinitesimal in size and infi- 
nite in number. Hence, by no outward forms can they be 
guilty of idolatry; for how can an infinitesimal atom be 
symbolized? how can it be represented in wood, or stone, or 
])ronze, or silver, or gold? Hence, they have erected no 
altars to the gods they worship; they have consecrated no 
high places to their service. But they are no less idola- 
trous. AVho can worship an abstraction? Neither can 
any one w^orship a mere force, or law, or sequence. But 
men must have something to >vorship. No man has ever 
lived and not worshiped something. Unable to make to 
themselves an image of a molecule, of an atom, of proto- 
plasm, they have deified the intellect which conceived them. 
As the infidel scientist recognizes no creative energy but 
protoplasm, and as protoplasm cannot be symbolized by 
such gross forms of matter as wood and stone, silver and 
gold, he symbolizes it by what he calls matter's subtlest 
form — the human intellect. As the worshipers of idols 
transfer to the idols themselves the attributes of the gods 
they serve, so do they who deify protoplasm, and symbol- 



THE BAALIM, B3 



ize it by intellect, transfer to intellect the homage due to 
protoplasm. And as no intellect is greater than the proud 
infidel scientist's own, he deifies that intellect, makes it God, 
and imperiously demands for it universal homage. Hence, 
his only real supreme God is the mighty Ego. And though 
there be many an Ego, and therefore gods many, there is 
not an Ego in the temple of science who does not sit and 
exalt himself above every other Ego in the whole Pan- 
theon. And there is not an Ego in the whole Pantheon 
who does not relegate all that do not agree with him to the 
limbus fatiiorum — to the limbo of fools. 



CHAPTER IV. 

Elijah's first appearance to ahab. 

LET us now return to Elijah, and see how the prophet 
met the contest waged in his day against the personal 
God of Israel. As we have seen, he appears suddenly be- 
fore the wicked and idolatrous Ahab. Whence he came, 
how he came, no one knows. The fiery steeds, which bore 
him to heaven on his departure from earth, may have caught 
him up in Gilead, and alighted him without, before the gate 
of Jezreel, or within, before Ahab's palace. Whether the 
king even knew that such a prophet was in existence, we 
are not informed. He may have thought, for all we know, 
that his active and vengeful queen had cut off the last one 
of Jehovah's prophets. However this may be, Israel's king 
must have been startled and dazed by the sudden and unex- 
pected appearance of the prophet, by his sublime and heroic 
daring, and by the terrible calamity with which he threat- 
ened his realm. The bold Tishbite's weird and fiery look, and 
coarse sheep-skin mantle, and leathern girdle, and shaggy hair 
must have been awe-inspiring to the guilty Ahab. The accred- 
ited embassador of the Almighty Sovereign of the universe 
stands proudly and defiantly before Israel's impious king. 
The majestic mien of the God-commissioned legate, the ter- 
rible earnestness of his heaven-inspired tones, the tremen- 
dous oaths which he uttered, and the woful sentence of the 
dread Judge of all the earth, which he faithfully pronounced, 
were all in keeping with the importance and dignity of the 
prophet's great embassy. By the ever-living Lord God Eli- 
jah swears, and not by Baal, whom Ahab worships — " a 
(34) 



ELIJATfS FinST APPEARANCE TO ARAB. 35 

mere power of nature," or luminary, "born, like the other 
luminaries, out of the primitive chaos " — but by Him who 
created the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and all things 
— sun and moon and stars; things visible and things invis- 
ible — who said, "Light be, and light was;" who spake and 
it was done, commanded and it stood fast. By the ever- 
living Lord God of Israel! — such, too, is Elijah's oath. Baal 
is not God of Israel ; Jehovah alone is Israel's God. It 
was Jehovah who called Israel out of the heathen Ur of 
Chaldees. It was he who made his seed after him as the 
sands upon the sea-shore innumerable, and who covenanted 
with him, and with his seed after him, to give them the land 
of Canaan for a possession. It was Jehovah who kept them 
alive in Egypt in time of famine; who divided the Red 
Sea before them, and, with its returning waters, drowned 
the pursuing Egyptians. It was Jehovah who conducted 
them through the wilderness by his pillar of cloud by day 
and column of fire by night, smote the rock and gave them 
water to drink, and fed them with manna that fell down 
from heaven. It was Jehovah who gave to them the law amid 
the thunders and lightnings of Sinai, drove out the heathen 
nations before their face, and put them in possession of the 
promised inheritance. And it was Jehovah who raised up 
for them Moses, and Aaron, and Miriam, and Joshua, and 
Gideon, and Barak, and Deborah, and Samson, and Jeph- 
thah, and Samuel, and David, who illustrated Israel, and 
delivered the chosen people out of the hands of their ene- 
mies. 

In the presence of this ever-living Lord God of Israel 
Elijah stands! The eyes of him who keepeth Israel, and 
who neither slumbereth nor sleepeth, are upon him. Elijah 
is there present before Ahab by Jehovah's command; he 
speaks in Jehovah's name, and under Jehovah's protection. 
The Lord God of Israel, before whom he stands, hears what 



36 ELIJAH VINDICATED, 

he says, -will bear witness to his message, and confirm the 
messenger. And as a proof that the Lord God of Israel 
ever liveth, that Elijah is his servant and speaks by his 
authority, the prophet swears that there shall not be dew 
nor rain these years, but according to his word. By with- 
holding the dew and rain at the prophet's word, and by 
their return at the same word, the Lord God of Israel would 
demonstrate that he is God, and he alone; that he is not " a 
mere power of nature " like Ahab's god, but the personal God 
— the God ot creation and providence — who giveth the dew 
and the rain, and the fruitful seasons, and the harvest; who 
begetteth the drops of dew, covereth the heavens with 
clouds, prepareth rain ibr the earth, maketh grass to grow 
upon the mountains, satisfieth the desolate and waste ground, 
and causeth the bud of the tender herb to spring forth ; who 
giveth the snow like wool, and scattereth the hoar-frost like 
ashes ; who casteth forth his ice-like morsels, and sendeth 
out his word and melteth them ; who shutteth up the sea 
with doors and stayeth its proud waves; who bindeth the 
sweet influences of the Pleiades, looseth the bands of Orion, 
bringeth forth Mazzaroth in his season, and guideth Arctu- 
rus with his sons ; who maketh a way for the lightning of the 
thunder, and directeth it unto the ends of the earth ; who 
giveth to the beast and to the young ravens their food ; who 
openeth his hand, and satisfieth the desire of every living 
thing; and who upholdeth all things by the word of his 
power ; by whom all things consist, and in whom all things 
that have breath live, and move, and have their being. 

Elijah's message is delivered. Like an apparition he 
came, and like an apparition he vanished out of Ahab's 
presence. How he went, who saw his departure, no one 
can tell, for the record is silent. Did some invisible hand 
bear him away before the king — aroused from his surprise 
— could arrest him? Was the king so confounded by the 



ELIJAH'S FIRST APPEARANCE TO AHAB. 87 

Buddenness of the apparition, was his guilty conscience so 
alarmed by the prophet's denunciation, did he so quail be- 
fore the searching, piercing eye of the fiery prophet, was he 
so dumb-stricken by Elijah's scorching words and the direful 
calamity which they foretold, that his pallid, trembling lips 
could utter no order for his arrest? Where were Ahab's 
courtiers, where the officers of the palace, where the guards 
that waited upon his royal person, that no hand was up- 
lifted to smite the presumptuous prophet, or to clutch him 
and drag him to prison? If dew and rain depended upon 
the prophet's word, why was he not seized? why was he not 
hurried to the torture and made to keep back the word that 
should Y/ithhold them from the earth ? Or, was Ahab so 
given up to Baal and Ashtoreth — had he such faith in their 
power to defend him — that he confidently relied upon the 
gods of Jezebel to avert the threatened vengeance of the 
God of Elijah ? Was he such an unbeliever in the prophet's 
God that he had no faith in the prophet's word ? or did the 
prophet's malediction appear to him as the wild ravings of 
lunacy? and was Elijah himself looked upon as a mad 
prophet whose predictions were no more to be respected 
than the idle wind? and, for that reason, was no impression 
made on the king's mind ? and was the prophet, therefore, 
allowed to come and go with impunity as one irresponsible, 
and not to be heeded? These are questions to which the 
history gives no direct answer. And yet, while the record 
does not tell us whether the king was smitten with dumb 
apathy, with bewildering alarm, or with the indifference 
or contempt of unbelief, we aro persuaded that Elijah's 
maledictions either so paralyzed the king with fear that he 
made no effort to arrest him, or that if he did attempt to 
apprehend him the Lord God who sent Elijah to Ahab de- 
livered him out of Ahab's power. We could easily believe 
that the king was maddened by the prophet's daring, and 



38 ELIJAH VINDICATED, 

that his frenzy was aroused by the prophet's denunciation. 
From what fblloAved it may be the monarch did attempt to 
seize the prophet, and that Elijah was saved by the miracu- 
lous interposition of Jehovah. That the king sought to ar- 
rest the Tishbite, that his purpose was to punish him for his 
temerity, may be an inference from the fact that the Lord God 
hurried his servant away from Ahab's presence and power, and 
hid him where the king's most diligent search could not find 
him. And hence the scene is changed from Ahab's palace 
in Jezreel to a cave in the rocks, hid away somewhere in a 
wooded mountain by the Jordan, and known only to the 
winged ravens, to Elijah, and to Elijah's God. And now 
our business, for awhile, is with Elijah in his hidden mount- 
ain retreat; meanwhile we leave the wicked and idola- 
trous monarch to brood in secret over the prophet's male- 
diction, and to wait to see whether the prophet spoke by 
inspiration of God, and whether the threatened evil would 
fall upon Samaria. 



CHAPTER V. 

CHERITH. 

AFTER Elijah delivered his message, the word of the 
Lord came unto him, saying : " Get thee hence, and 
turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, 
that is before Jordan." And to Cherith the prophet went. 
In that solitary wild, far away from the busy world, and 
"alone with nature and with nature's God," he spent at 
least the first eight months after his entrance upon his pub- 
lic prophetic work. His hiding-place was a secret in his 
day ; nor could any one after him tell where flowed " the 
brook Cherith, that is before Jordan." Whether it was on 
the east or the w^est of the Jordan is still a conjecture. 
"While some think — because he was directed to turn east- 
ward — that it was on the east in Gilead, others suppose it 
was on the west. What is called the Wady Kelt, on the 
west of the Jordan, Dr. Kobinson — from the analogy of name 
— suggests may have been the Cherith of Elijah. How Dr. 
Robinson arrived at this conjecture Dr. Kitto has shown. 
" The reader," says Dr. Kitto, " may be at some loss to see 
the analogy of Cherith and Kelt. But r and I are commut- 
able letters, frequently exchanged for each other; and if 
the I in Kelt be changed for r, it becomes Kert, or, with the 
softer sounds of the initial and final letters, Cherith." But 
the eminent author above quoted — who was one of the best 
of Oriental scholars — did not think this sufficient "to make 
out the identity, as the situation of this brook [the Wady 
Kelt] seems less suitable for the purpose in view than many 
others that could be indicated." 

(39) 



40 ELIJAH VINDICATED, 

It is not improbable that, in Elijah's day, the Cherith 
was not a mere wady — some ravine filled with water in the 
rainy season, and dry and parched by the heat and drought 
of summer — but a mountain stream, perennial like the Ar- 
non and Jabbok, or like the Jordan in the valley beneath. 
If there be no trace of it now, it may be because its sources 
were forever dried up by the long drought which Elijah 
brought upon Samaria. Perennial streams in Palestine 
have had a precarious existence at best ; the drought of three 
years and a half may have so exhausted the springs by 
which they were fed that more than one succumbed to its 
power, and forever afterward, unless when swollen by the 
rains, ceased to flow. At all events, where all is conjecture 
and no certain knowledge is left to us, it is more in keeping 
(and we shall so regard it) with the situation of Cherith 
"before the Jordan" — that is, we take it on the mountains 
along one of its sides, looking down upon and tributary to 
it — to believe it was some perennial mountain stream with 
rocky bottom and shaded banks. Nor is this opinion af- 
fected by the things learned travelers and explorers tell us 
about the present general desolations of the Holy Land. 
The fewness of its perennial streams, the dryness of its 
wadies when the winter rains are over, the barren and de- 
nuded state of its hills and mountains, and the gullies which 
have made deep gashes in their sides — these are all the 
mutations of time ; and they are the result of the system of 
agriculture pursued in Palestine for over two thousand years, 
and of the curse for its sins upon a land once flowing with 
milk and honey. In our own Southern land — because of 
our pernicious agriculture — barren wastes, bare hill-sides, 
wide gullies, and streamless valleys may now be seen, where 
only fifty years ago were fields white with fleecy cotton or 
golden with yellow grain; hills covered with giant trees 
and luxuriant vines, abounding in game and woodland 



CHERITH. 41 



fruits, and perfumed with the fragrance of sweet-scented 
wild fiowers; noisy brooks in which the red-finned pike 
lorded it over the shining minnow, or the deeper creek, in 
which the sportsman angled for shy bream or voracious 
trout. If such wastes may be seen all over these Southern 
States of the American Union, what changes may not two 
thousand years have wrought in Palestine? The just wrath 
of God has made desolate a land which Avas once " a de- 
lightsome land," and "as the garden of Eden;" "for he 
turneth rivers into a wilderness and the water-springs into dry 
ground, a fruitful land into barrenness, for the wickedness 
of those that dwell therein." In a land thus cursed "the 
seed is rotten under their clods, the garners are laid w^aste, 
the barns are broken down, for the corn is withered." The 
early and the latter rains have failed ; the corn and wine 
and oil have decreased. The cutting away of the trees 
which once adorned the hills and mountains, and the ab- 
sence of ditch and terrace, has exposed their sides to the 
winter torrents that sweep away the alluvial soil, where once 
flourished the fig-tree and the cedar, the vine and the olive. 
This destruction of the trees has diminished the rain-fall, 
and laid the land bare to the summer's heat. And besides, 
the rains which do fall are borne away the sooner by the 
deepened and widened wadies, or exhaled much faster by 
the unobstructed sun. 

But it was not thus in the days of Elijah's fathers. For 
it was " a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains 
and depths that spring out of valleys and hills ; a land of 
wheat and barley, and vines, and fig-trees, and pomegranates ; 
a land of oil-olive and honey ; a land wherein thou shalt eat 
bread without scarceness," and in which "thou shalt not lack 
anything." It was a land which the Lord had cared for ; his 
eyes were always upon it "from the beginning of the year even 
unto the end of the year." What inspired prophets and psalm* 



42 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

ists wrote about it, and sung about it, was not mere rhetoric or 
high-sounding hyperbole. And even at this day, notwithstand- 
ing its general desolations, there is in it much of loveliness and 
beauty, equaling all that inspired metaphor wrote or sung 
of the dew on Hermon, the excellency of Carmel and Shar- 
on, and the glory of Lebanon. The vast and fertile plain 
of Esdraelon, the vineyards of Eshcol, the olive-yards of He- 
bron, the gardens of Nablous, and the pastures about Beth- 
lehem show us, at this day, what the land once was, and 
what it may be again, under proper tillage and a good gov- 
ernment. In Elijah's day, there were, doubtless, many se- 
cluded spots in its hills and mountains and valleys, full of 
beauty and romance; cool grottoes, shaded springs, gurg- 
ling brooks, with the scent of wild flow^ers, the hum of bees, 
and the songs of birds. In some such weird spot, and not 
on some open, dry, and desolate wady, such as now meets 
the eye of the traveler in the Holy Land, we shall be- 
lieve, in the absence of all evidence to the contrary, the Lord 
God of Israel put his servant Elijah, when he hid him from 
Ahab by the brook Cherith. 



CHAPTER VI. 

THE RAVENS. 

THE Lord God, when he sent his prophet to dwell by 
"the brook Cherith, which is before Jordan," made 
special provision for his prophet's wants: "And it shall be/' 
said he, "that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have com- 
manded the ravens to feed thee there.'^ Accordingly, as long 
as the prophet dwelt by Cherith, " the ravens brought him 
bread arid flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the 
evening; and he drank of the brook." 

Into the controversy, touching the agents employed to 
supply Elijah with daily food, we purpose to enter so far 
as it relates to the words proposed as substitutes for the 
"ravens" in our Authorized Version. It is well known 
that the vowel-points in the Hebrew determine the word it- 
self, and, therefore, its meaning. In the passage before us 
the Hebrew word is orebim, or arbim, according to the vow- 
el-points respectively used. The first is the word adopted 
by our Authorized Version, and is translated ravens; by 
some, who admit the same reading, it is translated merchants; 
but if the second word be the true Hebrew reading, it should 
be rendered Arabs, Hence, while there are two different 
readings, there are three different renderings. Both those 
who contend for Arabs and those who contend for merchants, 
for like reasons, oppose the ravens of King James's Version. 
It is urged by them both that ravens could not have been 
the agents which fed Elijah — first, because ravens are legally 
unclean birds; second, being dumb brutes, no intelligible 
commands could be issued to them ; third, ravens could not 

(43) 



44 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

have the purpose and forethought necessary to feed the 
prophet ; fourth, the natural food of ravens is such as no Is- 
raelite, by the law, is permitted to touch ; fifth, as ravens 
cannot carry any but very small animals, and must, there- 
fore, tear in pieces the larger ones which they capture, Eli- 
jah could not have eaten what they thus brought, inasmuch 
as the law forbade the eating of animals " torn of beasts." 
When it is answered, by those who believe ravens to be the 
true reading, that they were miraculously directed to the 
proper food and miraculously supplied with it, it is said, in 
rebuttal, that this multiplies miracle on miracle, a thing God 
never needlessly does. To this it may be rejoined, Granted, 
that God never needlessly perfornis a miracle. Who can tell 
what is needlessly and what is not needlessly done? For if 
God perform an act, no argument that it was needless will 
stand, for one moment, against the feet of the doing of it. 
It cannot be a sure argument that it was not done ; neither 
is it an argument that it ought not to have been done; for 
we are no safe judges of what it is needless or not needless 
for God to do. For who hath searched out his judgments? 
who hath found out his ways ? who hath been his counselor? 
or who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may in- 
struct him? 

That ravens fed Elijah with proper food was no greater 
miracle than when salt healed the waters of Jericho, or when 
meal neutralized the poison in the pottage, or when a stick, 
thrown upon the water where the borrowed ax of one of 
the sons of the prophets had sunk, caused the ax to swim 
upon its surface. And that ravens should bring suitable 
food to the prophet required no greater miracle, or multi- 
plication of miracles, than for a fish to swallow a living 
preacher, and, after keeping him three days in his belly, 
vomit him forth alive and well. The salt, the meal, and 
the stick, so far as we can see, were just as unnecessary as 



THE It A YENS. 45 



the ravens ; God could have accomplished his ends by other 
means. In the case of the fish the marvel was in employing 
the fish; if the fish was employed, then all things else fol 
lowed. And the marvel was in employing the ravens; if 
they were used, then all that followed was a necessary se- 
quence. For the Almighty Creator, who adjusted the fish's 
belly to keep a man alive in it, and unharmed, surely had 
no more diflScult task when he fed with nutritious food, by 
the agency of ravens, his servant Elijah. As God gives to 
the ravens themselves their food, and heareth their young 
when they cry, and feedeth them, what great miracle was 
required to put them in the way of food needful for his 
l^rophet? 

But it is said that ravens will eat carrion. Must they, 
therefore, bear carrion to Elijah ? Do not ravens seize also 
upon quail, and doves, and pigeons, and chickens, and ducks, 
and even upon live kids and lambs, and bear them away 
for subsistence, tearing in pieces only such as are too large 
to be borne? Is it not the well-known habit of ravens to 
hide their prey in holes, in caves, and in by-places, and 
keep it until it is ready for use? In the rocks, hard by 
Elijah's abode on the banks of the Cherith, they might de- 
posit their prey where the prophet could easily find it. 
And thus the very habits of the birds conduced to the sup- 
port of Elijah; and in nowise was there need of multi- 
plying miracles to do it. Indeed, without miraculous in- 
terference at all, the prophet may have secured his food 
from ravens, and that too food not forbidden by the law 
of Moses. The only difficulty in the way, so far as the law 
is concerned, was not in the kind of animals, but in such as 
were "torn of beasts." And yet not even here was there 
any necessity for a miracle; for these birds of prey often 
bear away living animals without tea-ring them. Enough 
of these may have been taken to Elijah to meet all his needs. 



46 ELIJAH VINDICATED, 

And thus, without miracle, ravens may have borne to Elijah 
flesh for his morning and evening meal. 

But now let the divine interposition be taken into the ac- 
count. If God commanded ravens to feed the prophet, was 
it not easy to direct them to what must be taken, and how 
it must be taken? If he sent them with food direct to Eli- 
jah, would he send them with what was "torn of beasts," or 
with any thing not proper for food and lawful to be eaten ? 
If he did not send them direct to him ; if Elijah found out 
where they hid their prey, and took it from thence, did 
he not know what was lawful, and what was unlawful? 
Nor did it require many ravens to hide enough of prop- 
er flesh to feed a single man. Where game abounded, as 
doubtless it did abound in that wild, uninhabited mount- 
ain region, not many ravens were needed to supply Elijah's 
daily wants. But suppose that miracle, to a certain extent, 
was necessary to furnish the prophet with flesh. Can a 
falconer train a goshawk to swoop down upon a wood-pig- 
eon, and, having seized it, bring it to his master; and could 
not the Lord God teach the ravens how to capture their 
prey, and how to bear it to the prophet? Has not even the 
eagle been domesticated, and been taught to take prey, and 
carry it to his master ? One of the species of the royal 
bird has been used by the Kirgiz Tartars to capture ante- 
lopes, and even foxes and wolves. Borne along perched 
upon the hunter's hand, and hooded until the prey is in 
sight, the eagle is then unhooded, and sent in pursuit of the 
fleeing game. And so highly prized is one well trained 
that as much as the price of two camels, it is said, has been 
paid for a single bird. 

Ornithologists tell us that the raven is easily domesticated, 
and that its habit of seizing prey, and many things not prey, 
has caused no little annoyance to the owner. The reader 
is reminded of what Dickens, in his preface to " Barnaby 



THE BAVENS, 47 



Rudge," says about the ravens of which he was, " at differ- 
ent times, the proud possessor." " The first," the great nov- 
elist tells us, "was in the bloom of his youth, when he was 
discovered in a modest retirement in London, by a friend of 
mine, and given to me. He had from the first, as Sir Hugh 
•Evans says of Ann Page, * good gifts,' which he improved 
by study and attention in a most exemplary manner. He 
slept in a stable — generally on horseback — and so terrified 
a Newfoundland dog by his preternatural sagacity that he 
has been known, by the mere superiority of his genius, 
to walk off unmolested with the dog's dinner, from before 
his face." On the death of this one, whose life, at an early 
day, some " youthful indiscretion terminated," Dickens, " in- 
consolable for his loss," was comforted by the present of an- 
other " older and more gifted raven." " The first act of 
this sage," he says, " was to administer to the effects of his 
predecessor, by disinterring all the cheese and half-pence ho 
had buried in the garden — a work of immense labor and 
research — to which he devoted all the energies of his mind. 
When he had achieved this task he applied himself to tho 
acquisition of stable language, in which he soon became such 
an adept that he would perch outside my window and drive 
imaginary horses, with great skill, all day." But this ono 
" was too bright a genius to live long." "After some three 
years he, too, w^as taken ill and died before the kitchen fire. 
He kept his eyes, to the last, upon the meat as it roasted, 
and suddenly turned over on his back with a sepulchral cry 
of 'Cuckoo!'" 

Many things have been written about the sagacity of ra- 
vens, and confirmed by the highest authority, almost, if not 
quite, as marvelous as the feeding of Elijah. It has been 
taught to speak. Its sagacity was so well known and ac- 
knowledged that, in ancient Rome, it was regarded by the 
ministers of religion as the most important bird of augu- 



48 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

Yj. According to a Roman legend, one of the republic's 
most illustrious generals, Marcus Valerius Corvus, is said 
to have derived his cognomen from the assistance which a 
raven gave Valerius in a hand-to-hand fight with a gigantic 
Gaul. Many of the citizens of Macon, Georgia — the city 
in which the writer lives — could tell some wonderful and 
perfectly truthful things about "Jim Crow" — Corvus Amer- 
icanus was his species — who, about two months ago froi^ 
this date (July 30, 1885), put an end to his eventful life by 
eating too freely of some friction matches, which he had 
stolen and hid away. For three years this bird — a species 
of the raven {corvus corax) — was domesticated at the well- 
known cotton warehouse of Mr. O. G. Sparks, ex-mayor of 
our city. "Jim Crow" had the freedom of the w^arehouse, 
and notwithstanding his insatiable propensity to kleptoma- 
nia — stealing and hiding every thing he could seize and 
carry off — he was welcome, wherever he went, to the ware- 
housemen, to the employes, to the customers, and to the 
visitors. But Jim had his likes and his dislikes, his friends 
and his foes. To all, with whom he v»^as on good terms, he 
was most devoted and most affectionate, coming at your 
slightest friendl)^ call, perching upon the back of your chair, 
or hand, and submitting his head to be scratched, enjoying 
it immensely. But if he received the most trifling affront, 
no coaxing, no repentance, no gifts could win him over. 
Having a voracious, a truly ravenous appetite, he was ready 
to receive every thing presented to him for food, provided 
it was not offered by one with whom he was at variance. 
From such he would receive nothing, no matter how dainty 
or tempting the morsel. The offender could not even ap- 
proach him, let his attempts at reconciliation be never so cun- 
ningly and skillfully planned. If there was one such in any 
company, "Jim Crow" was never off his guard for a mo- 
ment. He always had an eye to the slightest movement of 



THE RAVENS. 49 



the suspected person. If the latter made the least effort to 
advance toward him, whether the advance was one of men- 
ace or friendship, Jim, jumping down from his perch on 
some friendly shoulder, if he chanced to be there, or leav- 
ing the daintiest food which he might be eating, would be 
off in an instant, and safely out of reach. And whether his 
retreat was slow or rapid, it was amusing to see with what a 
sidling gait he would retire, always keeping upon his enemy 
an eye that flashed contempt, defiance, or irreconcilable hate. 
These things the writer witnessed with his own eyes; their 
truthfulness can be attested by many eye-witnesses. And 
when "Jim Crow" died, his death was lamented by not a 
few, to whom he had been, for three years, the source of no 
little amusement. When the writer missed him from the 
warehouse, where Jim had been a frequent visitor, and 
learned his untimely end, he felt that he too had sustained 
a loss. His kind owner, we may well believe, could appre- 
ciate the feelings of the great English novelist, who was "in- 
consolable for his loss," when his first raven died from an 
overdose of the white lead which he had stolen from the 
painters. 

But we must return to the ravens which fed Elijah. 
What violence is done to truth when we suggest that the 
prophet himself may have domesticated the ravens and 
trained them to do his bidding? How long would it have 
taken this solitary man of the mountain wild, dwelling in 
its caves, climbing daily its crags, and daily seen in the fre- 
quented haunts of its feathered denizens, to familiarize the 
ravens, who built their nests around him, to the sight of 
his sheep-skin mantle and shaggy hair? And if now we 
call in the aid of Jehovah to assist the Tishbite in domesti- 
cating the ravens and making them obedient to his will, let 
no believer in the miracle-working God of the Bible say 
that this was too small a trifle for God to do. For with 
4 



50 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

God there is nothing small that affects the man who puts 
his trust in him. There is more of divine providence in lit- 
tle things than in great. Numbering the hairs of the head 
is a greater proof of the divine sovereignty and power than 
weighing the mountains in scales, or counting the stars 
and calling them by their names. That not a sparrow fall- 
eth to the ground w^ithout its Creator's notice is a greater 
assertion of providence than keeping revolving worlds in 
their orbits. 

Again, no more miraculous power was needed to make 
ravens feed Elijah than to make wandering Arabs, or trav- 
eling merchants, from some imaginary town called Oreb, 
feed him. Was the prophet's hiding-place in the wild and 
wooded mountain such a thoroughfare that Arabs, or mer- 
chants, could daily supply the prophet with flesh for his 
morning and evening meal, and Ahab not find it out? This 
would have required miracle, and miracle repeated daily. 
It would prove that the hiding-place of the prophet was no 
hiding-place at all ; or it would indicate that supernatural 
power was daily exercised over the minds and wills of the 
free human agents who did the service. Such supernatural 
influence, if human beings were employed, was necessary to 
furnish the prophet with daily meat, and keep his hiding- 
place a secret. It was more likely that ravens could have 
been thus supernatu rally influenced ; for ravens are free and 
moral agents in no such sense as men are. The ravens were 
frequenters of the brook by which the prophet dwelt ; they 
built their nests in the trees, or in the crevices of the 
rocks. It was to them a place of daily resort ; it was the 
seat of their aeries on the mountain heights. Besides, these 
dumb birds could tell no tales. The prophet's hiding-placo 
was safe with them; Ahab could never learn from thera 
where God hid Elijah. Merchants, or Arabs, being equal 
sufferera with the King of. Israel from the drought which the 



THE BAVENS, 51 

prophet's word brought upon all the region round about, 
were not persons Elijah's God would be likely to trust with 
the secret of his hiding-place. But it has also been conject- 
ured that the persons who fed Elijah were of the one hun- 
dred prophets, whom good Obadiah hid in a cave and res- 
cued from Jezebel's wrath. If they were such, were they 
not known to Elijah? and if they were known to him, how 
could he truthfufly say, as he believed, that he w^as the only 
prophet left in Israel, who remained faithful to Israel's 
God? 

We can see no greater miracle, or multiplication of mir- 
acle, in providing the prophet by ravens with daily bread 
and flesh than in multiplying daily the meal in the barrel, 
and the oil in the cruse, so long as Elijah abode beneath 
the humble roof of the poor widow of Zarephath. And what 
was the latter but miracle repeated daily, and that for over 
two years? Why repeat the miracle every day, when God, 
by a single miraculous act, could have supplied them with 
enough meal and oil to last a twelvemonth? At Zarephath 
daily bread for daily needs was Jehovah's procedure ; and 
who will blame him for it? Who questions the miracle be- 
cause it had to be daily repeated? Allow miracle for a sin- 
gle day, and there is no difficulty in repeating it every day 
in the year. And when miracle is thus repeated, who will 
say that it is needlessly done? The feeding of Elijah by 
ravens was not so great a miracle as that which supplied 
him with the cake baked on the coals under the juniper- 
tree in the wilderness. Many ways has God of providing 
his children with bread. Indeed, man shall not live by 
bread alone, but by every word which proceedeth out of the 
mouth of God. It was no greater miracle to feed Elijah by 
ravens than by the angel from heaven, who baked for him 
a cake on the live coals. Whence came the fire of burning 
coals? whence came the meal which made the cake? whose 



52 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

hands kindled the fire, kneaded the dough, placed it on the 
coals, and then baked it for Elijah? 

Again, it was no more miraculous for the ravens to un- 
derstand and obey the commands of Jehovah than for a 
dumb ass, when Jehovah commanded, to open his mouth 
and speak, and rebuke the false prophet. And as it regards 
the uncleanness pronounced against ravens by the law — we 
answer, it has nothing to do wdth such use as God put them 
to, when he fed his prophet by them. Israelites, it is true, 
were forbidden to touch them ; but in what sense ? For food, 
and for food only. In the same sense they were forbidden 
to touch the horse, or the camel ; and yet the horse and the 
camel, though forbidden food, were touched, and handled, 
and used as beasts of burden by the Hebrews. They might 
not be eaten, but they might be used to carry what it was 
lawful for a Hebrew to eat. God did not give the ravens 
to Elijah for food ; but by them he sent him his daily sup- 
ply. A well-trained, keen-scented spaniel is unfit for food, 
but he may bring to his master many a savory dish of grouse 
or teal. At all events we shall believe that it was law- 
ful for Elijah to eat whatever God provided for him; nor 
do we believe that God, who employed the ravens, sent him 
by them any thing common or unclean. Here we will not 
multiply miracle, for it is not necessary. The ravens, with- 
out multiplying miracle on miracle, could carry enough 
of what was lawful and clean for the morning and evening 
meal of the prophet of God. 

Thus have we answered the obj ections urged against the agen- 
cy of ravens. It remains only to add a word as to the weight 
of authority on the question in controversy. While some 
great and honored names contend for "Arabs," and others 
for " merchants," many more, in every way their equals, if 
not their superiors, agree with the great scholars, to whom 
we are indebted for the Version of King James. And to this 



THE RAVENS, 53 



weight of authority we must now add the testimony of the 
learned British and American scholars who have given us 
the Revised Version. In view of these facts, we shall con- 
tinue to believe, and shall rejoice in the belief, that the 
great God, who heareth the ravens when they cry, and giv- 
eth them their food in due season, sent by them flesh for the 
morning and evening meal of his servant Elijah, so long as 
he dwelt by "the brook Cherith, which is before Jordan." 
Nor did the Lord God have to go to Ahab's kitchen, or to 
the cave Avhere Obadiah hid the one hundred prophets, 
for the bread he sent to Elijah. The same Lord God, who 
sent him, by the angel, the cake baked on the coals under 
the juniper, sent him, by the ravens the bread which he ate 
on Cherith's rocky banks 

Note. — That the daily supply of food might have been brought 
to Elijah without a miracle, as the author states, is verified by the 
following incident. It is related in the " Life of Thuanus, ' or, as he 
is generally called, De Thou. He was traveling in the mountain- 
ous regions of Navarre, in France. " Wiien they reached Mande," 
says his biographer, 'Hhe bishop of the place entertained them in 
the most sumptuous manner for some days. They perceived that 
the game at the table generally wanted a wing or a leg, and some- 
times the head ; on inquiry they were surprised to hear that it was 
supplied from the nests of eagles in the neighboring cliffs. The 
peasants build small hovels or huts near, to screen themselves from 
the fury of the parent bird, which brings food for its young, and aft- 
er the spoil is deposited, flies away. The peasants then hasten to 
remove what they find — chickens, hares, partridges, or pheasants — and 
throw in garbage to the eaglets; but some portion of the prey is 
generally devoured. Three or four nests supply an elegant table 
through the year, and chains are fastened around the young to pre- 
vent their flying as soon as they otherwise would. Thuanus had the 
curiosity to ascend to one of these nests, and was a witness of the 
scenes described."— Book Editor. 



CHAPTER VII 

ELIJAH AT CHERITH. 

WHEN the Lord God commanded Elijah to hide 
himself by the brook Cherith, " he went, and did 
according to the word of the Lord; for he ivent and dwelt by 
the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan." The prophet went 
with implicit faith in Jehovah's promise that the ravens 
would supply him with bread and flesh, and the brook with 
water. And, as we have seen, the word of the Lord was 
fulfilled; for "the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the 
morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank 
of the brook" 

How long Elijah remained at Cherith no one can state 
with accuracy ; nor can we tell precisely at what time he 
took up his abode there. The time spent by the brook has 
been variously estimated from eight months to a year. It 
could not have been less than six months, nor longer than 
twelve. And as to the time of year, we can form some con- 
jecture approximating the truth. We know he remained 
there until the brook dried up. '-And it came to pass, after 
awhile, that the brook dried up, because there had been no 
rain in the land" The drought, which continued three years 
and six months, ceased in Elijah's third year at Zarephath. 
This would allow six, or even nine months for his residence 
at the brook. Eight months at Cherith and thirty-four at 
Zarephath would make the full three years and six months' 
drought, its duration according to the saying of our Lord in 
St. Luke, and of St. James in his Epistle. But, whatever 
its duration it must be reckoned from Elijah's message 
(54) 



ELIJAH AT CHERITH. 55 

to Ahab till the fall of rain after the sacrifice on Carmel. 
To be reckoned fairly, it must be reckoned from the time 
both the dew and rain ceased at Elijah's word till he spoke 
the word which brought their return. If Elijah, at the 
beginning of the rainy season (at which time, it is probable, 
he went to Cherith), commanded the dew and rain to cease, 
no part of the previous six months of dry weather, during 
which the dew continued to fall, must be counted as any part 
of the drought; for the previous six months' absence of 
rain had no dependence whatever upon Elijah's word. As 
the absence of rain from March till October is the invaria- 
ble and normal meteorological condition of Palestine, its 
presence during the months embraced between March and 
October would be phenomenal, and not its absence. But 
it may be said that there was no dew during those 
months, and that therefore they must be considered. Was 
the prophet's sentence retroactive? If he appeared to 
Ahab in autumn, and if there had been no dew during the 
previous summer, then the drought began six months be- 
fore the prophet delivered his message to the king. Hence, 
they must be wrong who compute the previous summer as 
a portion of the drought. And hence the probability is that 
it began in autumn at the time the winter rains usually set 
in, and ended in the spring of the fourth year after Elijah's 
first appearance to Ahab. It began with the season for the 
autumnal or early rains of the year in which the prophet 
pronounced his calamitous judgment against Israel, and 
ceased in time for the spring or latter rains of the fourth 
year afterward. 

The rainy season in Palestine begins near the end of 
October, or the first week in N(Tvember, and continues, with 
but slight intermissions of fair weather, until the middle of 
March; sometimes ending earlier, with the last of Febru- 
ary ; rarely later, with the last of April. The first, or au- 



5Q ELIJAH VINDICATED, 

tumnal, are called the early, and the second, or spring, are 
called the latter rains. The maximum of the rain-fall for 
a year — very nearly all of which occurs in winter — is 
about eighty-five inches; its minimum about forty-lour; 
and its average about sixty. From April till November, 
with rare exceptions, there is an entire absence of rain. 
Long before the summer solstice in June till the last of 
October, unclouded skies and scorching suns rule the day, 
the great dryness and the fiery heat bemg relieved by the 
cool nights, and by the heavy dews that remind us of Gid- 
eon's fleece, on which the dew had fallen, and out of which 
he wrung a bowlful of water. 

From the data given we approximate the time when 
Elijah went to Cherith. We know that while he was there 
"the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the 
laud ;" and we know Elijah could not have remained longer 
than a year. The land missed the winter rains, which 
were won't to supply the springs and water-courses, and pro- 
vide the soil with moisture against the long drought of sum- 
mer. Added to this, after what was usually the dry season 
set in, the spring and summer dews — which are so heavy in 
Palestine that water may be freely wrung from cloths or 
skins that have been exposed to them — failed as well as the 
winter rains. The water-courses, which, at the end of win- 
ter, ought to have been fullest, were in early spring run- 
ning low in their beds. And when the dew also ceased, it 
could not have been longer than June, when even peren- 
nial streams revealed channels without water. If the Che- 
rith failed in June it allowed the Tishbite a residence of about 
eight months on its banks. From this we infer that Elijah 
went to Cherith at or about what ought to have been the 
beginning of the rainy season. And if this be so, he passed 
the winter and the spring in some solitary cave hard by. 
As soon as the fiery suns of summer came, Cherith, having 



ELIJAH AT CHERITH, 57 

had neither the early nor the latter rains, nor the dews of 
spring to supply its sources, could no longer give drink to 
the prophet. Hence, God sends him elsewhere, and makes 
other provisions for his thirst. But before he leaves his 
solitary haunts by Cherith, let us conjecture how the Tish- 
bite passed the time in his lonely retreat. 

The mountain-cave by the brook may have been no new 
but an old haunt of the prophet. There is nothing in the his- 
tory to show that Cherith was before unknown to Elijah. He 
may, at some time, have dwelt there during the years about 
which we know nothing. If it w^ere an old dwelling-place, 
then what we have said respecting the ravens' familiarity 
with the prophet is the more probable. If it had been his 
retreat in other days, then all things there w^re familiar to 
his sight, and he would the better know how to adapt him- 
self to the secluded life which he must lead. But whether 
an old, or a new abode, he was to dwell alone, far beyond 
the search of Ahab and his minions, and where no roaming 
Arab of the desert wild, or itinerant merchant from Oreb, 
could ever come. 

And there are no positive data by which we may deter- 
mine the prophet's age when he went from Jezreel to Che- 
rith. That he was in the vigor of life may be inferred from 
the fact that, three years and a half later, he ran before 
Ahab's chariot from Carmel to Jezreel, and arrived first at 
the royal city. There is nothing in all the narrative which 
indicates old age to the Tishbite. At the time he entered 
upon his prophetic w' ork, he must have been strong of limb 
and possessed of great powers of endurance. If the prophet's 
youth and early manhood were spent in Gilead, he w^as, 
doubtless, inured to the life of its hardy mountaineers. 
Like those highlanders east of the Jordan, with swift feet 
and unwearied limbs, he could chase the fallow-deer and the 
chamois; scale the mountain-crag where the eagle fixed 



58 ELIJAH VIXDICATED. 

his aerie; pursue the wild boar to his lair in the denser 
woods; or, with dauntless courage, beard the panther and 
the lion in their dens. His raiment and food were as sim- 
ple as the raiment and food of Gilead's mountaineers; the 
sheep of its pastures on its hill-sides and in its valleys, or 
the wild beasts of the wilderness, furnished him with skins 
for his clothing; the bees gave him honey from hives in the 
clifts of the rocks ; the olive, the fig, and the vine supplied 
him with fruit; his meat was flesh of kids and lambs, of the 
wild roe, of the turtle-dove and the wood-pigeon, the par- 
tridge and the quail. His bread was of barley or wheaten 
flour, baked on the coals or roasted in the ashes; and, per- 
haps, his only medicine was Gilead's healing, aromatic 
balm. Whether the prophet had any certain dwelling in 
Gilead for a home, we know not ; but whether he had or 
not, as with its tough and sinewy mountaineers, it made no 
difference whether his couch was the bare ground, with only 
the starry heavens or some umbrageous tree for his canopy, 
or in some mountain-cave, strewed with dried leaves from 
the wild woods, over which was thrown the skin of shaggy 
bear or tawny lion, with his sheep-skin mantle as a pillow 
for his head. And it is quite probable that, in his for- 
mer life, his days in Gilead were chiefly spent among the 
flocks and herds of his pastoral and nomadic kinsmen. In 
boyhood he may have attended his father's flocks, driving 
them out to green pastures by the oleanders and willows on 
the margin of the Arnon ; protecting them from beasts of 
prey; following the stray ewe that wandered from the fold, 
and, having found it, bearing it back upon his shoulders; or 
guiding, with his shepherd's crook, the doubtful feet of the 
timid through dark valleys, dangerous mountain-passes, or 
narrow defiles. 

We could w^ish also we knew something about Elijah's 
early life; we wish we could tell who were his parents, and 



ELIJAH AT CHERITH, 59 

who were his brothers and sisters, if any he had. But we 
cannot. It is fair, however, to presume that he was " a 
Hebrew of the Hebrews," and that both his Hebrew par- 
3nts were devout and pious, thoroughly indoctrinated in 
)he religion of their fathers, imbued with its spirit, and true 
ivorshipers of the God of Israel. It is also fair to suppose 
ihat Elijah, at the appointed age and according to the law, 
ivas consecrated by the rite of circumcision to the service of 
2oven ant-keeping Jehovah. His pious parents, no doubt, 
Barly taught him the past history of his race and God's 
dealings with them from the call of Abraham to the dedi- 
cation of the temple on Mount Zion. And he was, no 
^oubt, early instructed in the outward and inward mean- 
ing of the Decalogue given to his people amid the thunders 
and lightnings of Sinai, and graven by the finger of Jeho- 
vah upon tables of stone. It was then, perhaps, that the 
heart of the young Hebrew boy was fired with zeal for the 
honor of the Lord God of Israel, and with hatred of those 
who had impiously introduced idols and idol-worship into 
the land consecrated and set apart to the worship of the 
one only living and true God. And perhaps at a very early 
age — it may be as early as the call of Samuel in the house 
of the Lord at Shiloh — God called him to be his prophet 
and the reformer of the idolatrous nation. It may be that 
at an early day God took him from the flocks and herds 
and hid him away from men, and alone in the mountains, 
among the birds and beasts, and trees and flowers, and 
rocks of the wild woods, trained him for his service, and 
for the special work to which he called and devoted him. 
And that he might be the better prepared for it, after a 
long tutelage in the wilderness, God may have sent him, 
before his showing forth to Israel as his chosen prophet, to 
visit the regions west of Gilead — from the Jordan to the 
Mediterranean, and fi'om snow-capped Lebanon on the 



60 ELIJAH VINDICATED, 

north to sunny Paran on the south. Unknown and unob- 
served till his appearing to Ahab, the future prophet of 
God and reformer of Israel may have gone from place to 
})lace in a land which was " an epitome of the natural feat- 
ures of all regions — mountainous and desert, northern and 
tropical, maritime and inland, pastoral, arable, and vol- 
canic" — with "the tropical fauna of many distinct regions 
and zones brought into such close juxtaposition" that "even 
the southern slopes of the Himalayas afford no greater va- 
riety and beauty." That the worship of the Lord God of 
Israel who had given this goodly land to his fathers should 
be forsaken, and his altars thrown down, and that the wor- 
ship of Baal and Ashtoreth should be the worship of Ahab 
and of his court and people, stirred the fiery prophet's 
zeal, and made him burn to begin the work of denuncia- 
tion and reform. Gladly he obeyed the summons which 
sent him to Ahab. With reluctance, we believe, but with 
implicit acquiescence in the Divine command, he went to 
his life of seclusion and inactivity by Cherith, there to 
av;ait the result of the drought v/hich was to come upon sin- 
ful and idolatrous Israel. 

The Tishbite is alone in some cave by the brook, and yet 
he is not alone: God is with him, and the prophet enjoys 
his conscious presence. The Lord God, who afterward sent 
his angel to him under the juniper-tree to prepare food for 
him that he might have strength for the long journey to 
Iloreb, did not let his servant lead a lonely and recluse 
life for nearly a year in the mountains without intercourse 
with him. The angel of the covenant who appeared to 
Abraham in the plains of Mamre, to Hagar in the wilder- 
ness, to Jacob at Bethel, to Moses at the burning bush, to 
Gideon under the oak at Ophrah, to Manoah in the field 
of Zarah, to Samuel at Shiloh, and to David in the thresh- 
ing-place of Araunah, surely did not forget Elijah at Che- 



ELIJAH AT CHEBITH, 61 

rith. Celestial visitants, we may well believe, honored him 
with their presence, comforted him by their sweet minis- 
tries, and conversed with him about his prophetic mission. 
In no school of the prophets was Elijah trained ; he attend- 
ed upon no prophet as his master who instructed him in 
the prophetic art. His sole instructor and trainer for his 
appointed work was the Lord God of Israel who sent him 
to Ahab and afterward to his hiding-place by the brook. 
Elijah was no anchorite like the solitary in the rocks o^ 
Enghedi, who withdrew Jiimself from the world to avoid 
its temptations, and to seek holiness in the wilderness by 
self-denial and penance and self-inflicted scourges For the 
Tishbite was in solitude by the command of God ; and by 
God's command he remained there till God ordered him to 
exchange his abode by Cherith for the dwelling of the 
widow of Zarephath. And to no fastings, to no mortifica- 
tions of the flesh, was Elijah subjected. The morning and 
evening meal of flesh and bread was daily supplied, and 
without stint his thirst was quenched by the brook. Nor 
do we think it was at all probable that, while he dwelt by 
Cherith, he was shut up in some mountain cave as in a 
prison. Wherever it was, God took care that his proph- 
et's haunt should be unknown and inaccessible to Ahab. 
At that day there were doubtless many secluded, hidden, 
and out-of-the-way places in the mountains by " the brook 
that is before Jordan " where God could secrete his prophet 
W'ithout shutting him up in a cave, or grotto, and, lest his 
hiding-place should be discovered, closely confining him 
there. It was no difiicult matter, nor did it require any 
miracle, to keep the place of his concealment unknown to 
Ahab, and to let his prophet, with perfect safety to himself, 
have the freedom of tl^e trackless woods in which his hid- 
ing-place was fixed. Hence, he may have passed his time 
sleeping in the cave by night, and by day roaming as he 



62 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

might please the thick woods which sheltered his retreat. And 
while his general dependence for food was upon the ravens, 
there is no reason why he may not have supplemented his 
table with whatever of fruit or game he might himself ob- 
tain. Nor was this a difficult thing for him to do, if his 
early life as a mountaineer of Gilead had been as we have 
reasonably supposed. In the absence of any positive proof to 
the contrary, we may innocently conjecture whatever may 
not be inconsistent with Elijah's life and character, or with 
the plans of God in sending him to and hiding him at the 
brook. Sure we are that Elijah's God would indulge his 
prophet in what was consistent with his safety and health. 
And as this could be done by giving his servant the liberty 
we have suggested, we do not think his God refused it to 
him. 

Day after day and night after night came and went for 
nearly a twelvemonth. The winter days, which had ever 
been marked in Palestine by frequent and excessive rains, 
were as dry as the dryest summer. If the sky was ever 
overcast, it was with "clouds without water;" for God 
commanded " the clouds that they rain no rain." If the 
lightnings lighted up the heavens in the south or south-west 
— which, in the valley of the Jordan, had always been the 
sure token of approaching rain — he that " causeth the 
vapor to ascend from the ends of the earth," and *' maketh 
lightnings for the rain," kept back both the rain and the 
vapor. Loud thunders may have thundered in quarters, 
which had been the sure harbingers of abundant showers; 
they may have rolled along Cherith, and reverberated 
among the caverns and crags of its mountains; but no 
showers followed their deafening voices. But it may be 
that these mocking signs were withheld; that no clouds 
obscured, no lightnings flashed athwart the heavens, and 
" from crag to crag leaped " no thunders. Already, before 



ELIJAH AT CHERITH, 63 

Elijali left Cherith, the heavens above were by day as solid, 
burnished brass; no part of blazing noon, "insufferably 
bright," was ever overspread by even fleecy or gossamer 
veil; and the fiery sun shot down his rays through no ob- 
scuring media. And by night, in their turn, the moon, 
with no soft and mellow but with glaring and bewildering 
light, and stars, whose faintest rays shone like Sirius when 
he rises and sets with the sun, held undisputed sway. The 
drought having followed hard upon the long and fierce heat 
of summer, the ground was baked and parched, and no 
moisture was found on leaf of bush or tree, or on blade of 
grass, and scarcely did any green thing relieve the eye. 
As the water in the wadies had long been exhaled by the 
burning sun, and had received no supply from the winter's 
rains, they were as dry through the autumn and winter as 
they had been left at the close of summer. Perennial Che- 
rith, meanwhile, through the long and dry winter, supplied 
with water not only Elijah, but the beasts of the forest and 
the birds of the air ; and thither they came to drink. But 
Cherith — perennial stream though it had been — unreplen- 
ished by the rains of autumn and winter, was feeling the 
drain upon its waters. Day by day the brook was narrow- 
ing its banks, and growing shallower in its bed ; and when 
the fierce suns of the opening summer poured their unob- 
structed rays upon its sources and all along its windings, it 
ceased to be a running stream, showed here and there a 
stagnant pool, and soon disappeared altogether. 

Meanwhile, without misgiving, and with child-like faith 
in God and his promises, Elijah was passing his days and 
nights at Cherith. With unfailing regularity the ravens 
brought him bread and flesh ; with good digestion, with a 
heart full of love, and with gratitude to the bountiful Giver 
of all good, he ate his morning and evening meal. Incense 
of praise and thanksgiving continually ascended heaven* 



64 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

ward from his rustic abode. In fellowship with God, and 
having the abiding testimony of the Divine approval, his 
hours glided sweetly by. In the solitudes of the wilderness 
he had daily communings with nature. To him its works 
were no " universal blank," nor were they to him " expunged 
and razed." No " thick drop serene " quenched, or " dim 
suffusion veiled," his orbs. He saw nature with his eyes, 
and he saw God in nature, and traced his works " in fairest 
lines." To him the heavens declared the glory of God, the 
firmament showed his handiwork, day unto day uttered 
speech, and night unto night showed knowledge. The sun 
by day and the moon and stars by night proclaimed their 
great Creator's praise. The *' sweet approach of even or 
morn " was saluted with fresh incense from a loving heart. 
The days were spent in patient waiting on the will of God, 
or in such duties as could be performed in his solitary re- 
treat. The nights were passed in refreshing sleep, in com^ 
muning on his leafy couch with God and his own heart, or 
in thoughts concerning the past and present history of his 
race — the faith of Abraham, the deliverance of Moses, the 
courage of Joshua, the faith of Caleb, the might of Sam- 
son, the heroism of Gideon, the inflexible will of Jephthah, 
the piety of Samuel, the lyric inspiration of David, and 
the glory of Solomon ; or the sin of Achan, the rebellion 
of Korah, the wickedness of the sons of Eli, the idolatry 
of Jeroboam, the Baalism of Ahab, and the then prevail- 
ing idolatries of Israel. Mingled with these thoughts would 
be reflections on the work of reform to which God had 
called him, and its probable effects upon the reigning king, 
upon his court and people, and upon the whole future of 
the Hebrew race and the Church of God. The prophet's 
sleepless hours by night were no doubt occupied by many 
such thoughts, interrupted only while listening to the mur- 
murs of the pebbly brook without, the sighing of the winds 



ELIJAH AT CHERITH. 65 



through the trees and caverns of the mountain, the croak- 
ing of ravens, the laughing of owls, or the melodious song 
of " the wakeful bird " that 

Sings darkling, and in shadiest covert hid 
Tunes her nocturnal note. 

But the hour has come when the prophet must leave his 
abode by Cherith. The brook has dried up, and can no 
longer give him water. That the ravens fed Elijah, and 
not Arabs, or merchants, is confirmed by the fact that he 
depended for water upon the brook alone. If Arabs, or 
merchants, supplied him with bread and flesh, they might 
have brought hira water after the failure of the brook, and 
there would have been no necessity for the prophet to change 
his abode. That water could have been had from some- 
where, notwithstanding the dryness of Cherith, is evident 
from the fact that the people were kept alive during the 
drought of three years and a half. Some may have perished 
from thirst, but the great body of the people survived. 
Wherefore, as the ravens could supply Elijah with flesh 
and bread, but not with water, the prophet, when Cherith 
failed, was sent where he could be furnished with both food 
and drink. And from Cherith he was sent to Zarephath. 
6 



CHAPTER VIII. 

ZAREPHATH. 

THE scene shifts from " the brook, that is before Jordan/' 
to a maritime town of Phenicia. When the brook 
Cherith could no longer supply Elijah with water, the word 
of the Lord came unto him, saying : ''Arise, get thee to Zare- 
phath, ivhich belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, 1 
have commanded a widow ivoman there to sustain thee." 

When the Tishbite left the Cherith, he left the lairs of wild 
beasts — the lion, the panther, the bear, the jackal, the wild- 
boar, the fox, and the wolf; the haunts of the roe, the chamois, 
the antelope, and the wild-goat ; and the nests of eagles, fal- 
cons, kites, vultures, ravens, owls, bustards, partridges, quails, 
doves, cuckoos, and nightingales. For all these were of the 
fauna of Palestine, and, in the prophet's day, frequented the 
mountains on either side of the Jordan^ Under the protection 
of the Lord God of Israel he lived secure from beasts of prey. 
Ravens, as we have seen, were his ministers; and, no doubt, all 
the other animals, the harmless and the harmful, became famil- 
iar to his person, under the watch and ward of Him who, when 
it pleaseth him, maketh the wolf to dwell with the lamb, the 
leopard to lie down with the kid, and the lion and the calf 
and the fatling together, and a little child to lead them. 
As long as it was the will of God for him to continue there, 
the prophet remained by Cherith with cheerful submission, 
with unquestioning faith, and without a misgiving, even 
when he saw the water growing daily less and less in the 
brook. And when ordered to leave Cherith, he bade fare- 
well, with ready obedience and unwavering faith, to the 
(66) 



ZAREPHATH, 67 



brook -which had given him drink; to the friendly cave 
which had sheltered his head; to the mountains which had 
been the appointed bounds of his retreat, with their trees, 
and shrubbery, and vines, and flowers, and dells, and rocks, 
and crags; to the ravens which brought hnn his morning 
and evening meal; and to the quadrupedal and winged 
fiiuna, which, besides himself, were the only denizens of 
Cherith's sequestered environs. 

Child of want and sorrow, who perchance readeth these 
lines, pause a moment to ask whether your faith in God and 
his promises is such as was the Tish bite's in the solitudes by 
the brook. Not unfrequently, to test their faith, God sends 
his children to some lonely, out-of-the-way place — to some 
Cherith apart. It may not be literally as was the " Cherith, 
that is before Jordan," but none the less real. For oft, 
even in crowded and wealthy cities, God's poor and afflicted 
saints, dependent upon his ravens for their daily bread, 
may be dwelling as much alone and apart as in some un- 
inhabited^ wilderness. How is your faith w^hen the water is 
getting low in the brook? and how is it with you when you 
must leave it and the friendly ravens, and go to some un- 
friendly Zarephath? Fear not, child of heaven! take no 
thought lor the morrow. Your heavenly Father knoweth 
that you have need of all these things. He who sustained 
you by the brook will lead you, when it fails, where "your 
wants shall be his care." 

Solitary and secret was Elijah's journey from Cherith to 
Zarephath. Nearly the whole of the direct way from the 
valley of the Jordan to the Phenician shore of the great 
sea, which had to be traversed on foot, lay through much 
frequented and thickly populated regions. If he went 
by the direct route, the inhabitants of much of the way 
were the idolatrous subjects of Ahab; the inhabitants 
of the rest of the route were either the idolatrous sub- 



68 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

jects of Ethbaal, King of Sidon and father of Jezebel, or 
of some other Phenician power. The subjects of Ahab 
were anxious to apprehend the Tishbite and drag him be- 
fore their king ; the others were equally ready to seize him, 
because they too were experiencing the blighting effects of 
the drought. Besides, both Samaria and Phenicia were ex- 
plored by the officers of Ahab and the detectives of Jezebel, 
who, in search of Elijah, had scoured every known nook and 
corner from beyond Jordan to the Mediterranean, and from 
Lebanon to the borders of Judah. These were urged on by 
hatred of the prophet, the fear of Ahab and Jezebel, or the 
hope of meriting their favor, and winning the reward prom- 
ised to him who should carry the prophet alive to Jezreel 
or Samaria. For it is not to be supposed that a price was 
put upon Elijah's head. Ahab was long convinced that the 
drought had been brought on by Elijah's word, and that it 
could be removed by nothing but the same word. To take 
the Tishbite's life before he spoke the word w-ould prolong 
the drought. Hence, the only hope of its removal lay in the 
apprehension of the prophet, and coaxing or forcing him to 
speak the word that should bring back the dew and rain. 
Through such dangers Elijah must make his way to his new- 
ly appointed abode. But we know not by what route he 
journeyed. AVhether Cherith was on the east, in Gilead — or 
on the west, in Samaria — if he went by the direct route from 
either, he had to cross the great and inhabited plain of Es- 
draelon, and, turning to the north and the north-west, go by 
Carmel and Tyre, and so on to Zarephath. , If he did this, 
to have traveled unobserved he must have journeyed by 
night, and remained concealed by day. But to avoid expos- 
ure, it is probable the prophet went by the less dangerous 
route, on the east of the Jordan, going northward as far as 
Damascus; and, taking the road to Zidon, crossed Antilib- 
anus and Libanus, passed Zidon, and arrived at his desti- 



ZAREPHATH. 69 



nation. This was the longest way, but, for the prophet, the 
safest. But whatever the route, and however he journeyed, 
God brought his servant safely to Zarephath. 

This Phenician town was situated on the Mediterranean 
about midway between Tyre and Sidon. As Tyre and Si- 
don were nearly twenty English miles apart, Zarephath was 
about ten miles from either, being a little nearer to the lat- 
ter than to the former. The Zarephath of the Old Testa- 
ment is the Sarepta of the New, and the Sarafend of mod- 
ern times. Zarephath is the Hebrew, and Sarepta is the 
Greek for the name of the town ; Sarafend is its Turkish 
designation. While this ancient town is chiefly celebrated 
in the sacred history as the dwelling-place of the prophet 
Elijah for nearly three years, it was not Avithout importance 
otherwise. Its relation to the rest of Phenicia, and to the re- 
ligion of the Phenicians which Ahab and Jezebel were seek- 
ing to establish in Israel, must be considered in estimating 
its bearing upon the life of the Tishbite. 

The ancient Phenicia was one of the oldest and most cel- 
ebrated countries of antiquity. Its people Avere descended 
from Canaan, a son of Ham ; and, Philistia excepted, it oc- 
cupied the whole of Canaan betw^een the Jordan and the 
Mediterranean. But whatever its extent before the con- 
quest of Canaan by the Israelites, the Phenicia of Elijah's 
time was a narrow strip between Libanus and the Mediter- 
ranean, extending from spurs of Libanus on the north to 
Mount Carmel on the south. This territory, at the divis- 
ion of Canaan among the twelve tribes, was assigned to 
Asher, but was never completely subjugated by the Asher- 
ites. Phenicia, when Elijah went to Zarephath, was a suc- 
cession of maritime towns on the coast of the great sea. 
These are the towns mentioned in Judges, from which Asher 
did not drive out the inhabitants : "But the Asherites dwelt 
among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land; for they 



70 ELIJAH VINDICATED, 

did not drive them out" Beginning near Carmel, and going 
north, we have on the coast, and in their order : Accho, aft' 
erward known as Ptolemais, but still later, in the times of 
the Crusades, as the St. Jean D' Acre of the famous siege con- 
ducted by Richard Coeur de Lion; Achzib (ten miles north 
of Accho), the Ecdippa of the Greeks and the Zib of tho 
present day; Tyre (Tzor, in Hebrew), called in Joshua "tho 
strong city," and now known as Sur; Zarephath (Sarepta, 
in Greek), and the modern Sarafend; and Zidon (Sidon, in 
Greek), which derived its name from Canaan's eldest son, 
and was called in Joshua "the great Zidon." Saida is the 
present name of Zidon. Tyre and Sidon were the great- 
est of these cities, but there were others of inferior names 
along the Phenician coast. 

The Phenicians — or Canaanites, as they are generally des- 
ignated in the Hebrew Scriptures, except Vv^hen they are 
called Zidonians, from Zidon, their oldest colony — were close- 
ly related to the Hebrews. Their language, as may be 
learned from their coins and inscriptions, and from those 
which have come down to us from the colonies they estab- 
lished in Africa and Europe, was Shemitic, though they 
themselves were immediately descended from Ham. No 
literature of ancient Phenicia is extant ; and yet it is con- 
cluded from their coins and inscriptions that their language 
w^as neither Shemitic Arabic nor Shemitic Aramaic, but 
Shemitic Hebrew. It seems to be the commonly received 
opinion of Oriental philologists that the old Phenician and 
the old Hebrew are not different tongues, but different dia- 
lects of essentially the same language. But though no lit- 
erature of Phenicia has come down to us in books, yet the 
Phenicians must have had a literature. This we arrive at 
not only from their coins and inscriptions, but from the fact 
that the Greeks were indebted to the Phenicians for letters. 
We may regard the whole story of Cadmus as a poetic or 



ZAFiEPHATH, 71 



mythical legend, and still there remains enough of truth to 
make it highly probable that a Phenician colony carried let- 
ters to the Greeks. 

But, however this may be, there is no doubt that, at a 
very early day, the Phenicians were advanced in civilization, 
proficient in certain arts, and pioneers in commerce. In the 
days of David, King of Israel, Hiram, King of Tyre, sent 
cedar trees to Jerusalem, and cunning workmen, who built 
David a house. King Solomon, when he would build a 
house for the Lord God of Israel, applied to the Tyrians for 
help, saying he had none among his own people who " can 
skill to hew timber like unto the Zidonians." And he " sent 
and fetched Hiram out of Tyre," who was " a widow's son 
of the tribe of Naphtali; and his father was a man of Tyre, a 
worker in brass; and he was filled with wisdom and under- 
standing and cunning to luork all works in brass. And he 
came to King Solomon, and ivrought all his work.'' The 
whole elaborate work of the temple was cunningly wrought 
by this Tyrian craftsman — its brazen pillars, and chapiters, 
and nets of checker-work, and chain-work, and pomegran- 
ates, and lily-work, and molten sea, and knops, and oxen, 
and baths, and bases, and borders, and ledges, and lions, 
and cherubims, and wheels, and undersetters, and palm-trees, 
tmd lavers, and shovels; with its altar of gold, and tables of 
gold, and candlesticks of gold, and its golden oracles, and 
lamps, and tongs, and snuffers, and basons, and spoons, and 
censers, and hinges for the doors. Ezekiel speaks " of the 
multitude of wares of Tyrian making " — " emeralds, purple, 
and broidered work, and fine linen, and coral, and agate." 
The commerce of Tyre was unrivaled ; its skill in ship-build- 
ing was unequaled. It boasted, according to Ezekiel, that 
its ships were made of boards of fir-trees of Senir, whose 
masts were cedars of Lebanon ; whose oars were of oaks of 
Bashan ; whose benches were of ivory brought out of the 



72 ELIJAH VINDICATED, 

isles of Chittim ; whose sails were of fine linen with broid- 
ered work from Egypt; whose coverings were blue and pur- 
ple , whose mariners were of Zidon and Arvard ; whose pi- 
lots were wise men, and whose calkers were ancient and wise 
men of Gebal. Tyrian sailors traversed almost every sea ; 
Tyrian coloiiists were found on almost every shore. Cyprus, 
Utica, Carthage, Ehodes, Crete, Thrace, Sicily, Sardinia, and 
Spain had their Tyrian colonists. Tyrian navigators, start- 
ing from the Red Sea on a voyage of diLcovery, sailed around 
Africa, and, after an absence o^ two years, returned by the 
way of the Pillars of Hercules. " Situated at the entry of 
the sea." Tyre was " a merchant of the people for many isles." 
Isaiah calls it "the crowning city, whose merchants are 
princes, whose trafiickers are the honorable of the earth." 
Distant Ophir, though the voyage required an absence of 
three years, was explored for its gold ; the Britannic Isle was 
visited for its tin; Spain furnished silver and iron and 
lead ; Javan, Tubal, and Mesech, between the Caspian and 
Euxine, provided copper, wheat and oil and honey and 
balm came from Palestine; the Bedouin Arabs supplied 
rams and lambs and goats; Egypt yielded linen; Dedan, on 
the Persian Gulf, ivory and ebony; Damascus, wine; and 
the Peloponnesus, the shell-fish, from which the Tyrians 
made their dyes. The greatest of kings sought to be arrayed 
in purple of Tyre. Syria, and Persia, and Egypt, and al- 
most all parts of the then known world, lavished their 
most precious things upon this great Phenician city by the 
sea. 

Nor was Zidon scarcely less illustrious. In the days of 
the Judges, as we have seen, it was " the great city," while 
Tyre w^as " the strong city." Indeed, the comparative great- 
ness of the two cities repeatedly fluctuated. Because they 
were under independent and separate governments, when 
one suffered from siege, or capture, the other profited by 



Z A REP HATH. 73 



the calamity of the sufferer. Hence, more than once, whilo 
Tyre ^vas in decay Sidon flourished, and all the more, 
because her commerce and manufactures were relieved 
of the powerful competition of her sister and neighboring 
city. 

Nor were the other cities of the Phenician coast without 
their influence and importance. They, too, were once flour- 
ishing and wealthy commercial and manufacturing centers, 
and were only oversJiadowed by the two larger and more 
w^ealthy cities. A echo, or Ptolemais — the St. Jean D'Acre 
of the Crusades — was not only a city of ancient greatness, 
but, in the Macedonian period, was the most important 
Phenician town upon the coast. Fragments of buildings, 
and walls, and columns, and slabs, extending more than a 
mile, attest the former greatness of Zarephath. It was 
no insignificant town in which the widow woman resided 
who sheltered Elijah. Its mhabitants were Phenician 
merchants, ship-owners, and manufacturers. The glass of 
Zarephath was no less famous than the glass of Zidon. The 
whole Phenician coast was alive with trade from below 
Accho on the south to beyond Arvard on the north ; for the 
commercial, manufacturing, and maritime cities were almost 
contiguous. "The numerous towns which were crowded 
together in the narrow space of Phenicia," so Kitto puts it 
from Heeren's " Commerce and Politics of the Ancients," 
" covered almost the entire coast, and, together with their 
harbors and fleets, must have presented an aspect which 
has scarcely ever been equaled, and which was calculated 
to impress every stranger on his arrival with the ideas of 
wealth, power, and enterprise." 

The narrow slip which embraced the Phenician cities was 
bounded on the west by the Mediterranean, and on the east 
by the mountain-range of Lebanon. Its length was hardly 
more than thirty miles; the width of the plain between the 



74 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

sea and the mountains was, at Sidon, not more than two 
miles, and, at Tyre, not more than five. At some points 
Lebanon so encroached upon the sea that there was no 
plain between. The whole intervening space was of great 
natural fertility, and was greatly enriched by culture, and 
by a wealthy and crowded population. It was a vast and 
rich garden, exceedingly well watered by the numerous 
springs that ran down the sides of Lebanon. Nor has it 
lost all of its ancient fertility and productiveness. At this 
day Western Asia has no more productive valley. "It 
produces," says an eminent Oriental traveler and scholar, 
"wheat, rye, and barley, and, besides the more ordinary 
fruits, also apricots, peaches, pomegranates, almonds, citrons, 
oranges, figs, dates, sugar-cane, and grapes which furnish 
an excellent wine. In addition to these products it yields 
cotton, silk, and tobacco. The country is also adorned by 
the variegated flowers of the oleander and cactus. The 
higher regions are distinguished from the bare mountains 
of Palestine by being covered with oaks, pines, cypress- 
trees, acacias, and tamarisks; and, above all, by majestic 
cedars, of which there are still a very few old trees w'hose 
stems measure from thirty to forty feet in circumference. 
The inhabitants of Sur still carry on a profitable traffic 
with the produce of Mount Lebanon, namely, w^ood and 
charcoal. Phenicia produces also flocks of sheep and goats, 
and innumerable swarms of bees supply excellent honey. 
In the forests there are bears, wolves, panthers, and jackals. 
The sea furnishes great quantities of fish, so that Sidon, the 
most ancient among the Phenician towns, derived its name 
from fishing." 

Ancient Phenicia exercised no small influence upon the 
world's religion. Wherever Phenician mariners or mer- 
chants or colonists went, they carried their religion ntid 
their country's gods. What that religion was, and why 



ZAIIEPHATH. 75 



were the gods of the Zidonians, we have already passed un- 
der review. It was not to be expected that a people who 
had such an extensive and controlling influence over the 
commerce of the world would have no influence upon 
its religion; for religious ideas are very easily conveyed 
through channels of trade. Let the people of one country 
control another's commerce, and they will have readiest 
access to those whose commerce they direct. Hence trade, 
in all ages, has been an important and influential factor 
in determining and shaping the moral and religious ideas. 

Ancient Corinth, by means of her two ports — Lechseum, 
on the Ionian, and Cenchre£e,on the Jilgean — having become 
the emporium of trade between Europe and Asia, held 
greater sway over morals and religion than the more 
cultured, aesthetic, and religious Athens. Her luxurious 
and licentious worship had a much wider range than the re- 
ligion of Socrates and Plato, not only because it every- 
where found a more congenial soil, but because her commerce 
gave to it far readier access to human hearts. An equally 
great but happier influence is felt when trade is con- 
trolled by correct moral and religious opinions. This is 
one great reason why the influence of Christian England has 
been much greater than that of infidel France. Woe to 
the world, if Britannia had not ruled the waves! Woe 
to the world, if French merchants had controlled her great 
marts of commerce ! And while estimating the agency of 
Christian England in these regards, consider the compara- 
tive difl[iculties which she would have to surmount. The 
more liquid tongue, the lighter literature, the politer man- 
ners, and the looser moral and religious ideas of France, if 
French commerce had been more extensive and control- 
ling, would have boasted a dominion more universal than 
England's, and one far more easily acquired. 

If commerce be governed by right principles, if its stand* 



76 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

ard be high, it will be a persuasive exponent of right moral 
and religious truth. But if its standard be low, if cunning 
and fraud mark its procedure, if selfishness and gain at what- 
ever price be its supreme object, it will be a potential dis- 
semmator of bad morals and a depraved religion. Cor- 
rupt itself, it will surely defile those v/ho are brought under 
its power And there is no mere human power more po- 
tent for good or evil than the money power; and nowhere 
does money have such a subtle power as in trade. Let a 
wealthy commercial people of superior intelligence be the 
masters of another's markets, and their influence will be 
supreme. And let intelligent commercial wealth be backed 
by greater strength, let its battalions be the best trained 
and disciplined, let its swords be the longest and the keen- 
est, let all its offensive and defensive weapons be the best, 
and its authority will be absolute. If the principles be cor- 
rupt, the influence will be corrupting. " Evil communica- 
tions corrupt good manners;" and nowhere are such com- 
munications conveyed more readily than through the ave- 
nues of commerce. And when evil communications, thus 
conveyed, succeed in corrupting the heart, the intellect is 
ready to embrace the moral and religious as well as the 
commercial ideas of those w4io did the corrupting. Suc- 
cess, in such case, has a twofold influence. Neither party 
is left where they were when the commercial intimacy be- 
gan. The injury done is reciprocal. For even the cor- 
rupter becomes still more corrupt, and "shall utterly perish 
in his own corruption." And of this the ancient commer- 
cial centers are striking examples. Read the woes pro- 
nounced against mystic and apocalyptic Babylon for the 
debasing effects of her merchandise upon herself, upon the 
merchants, and upon all who had ships in the sea, and were 
made "rich by reason of her costliness! " The sins of great 
Babylon, who exalted herself, and "lived deliciously;" 



ZAIiEPHATH, 11 



-who defiled the nations "through the abundance of her 
delicacies," and, in turn, became more defiled herself, 
reached unto heaven and called for vengeance. God re- 
membered her iniquities; and his angel, proclaiming her 
doom, cried mightily Avith a loud voice, saying: "Babylon 
THE GREAT IS FALLEN, IS FALLEN ! " Hear the wocs de- 
nounced against the Assyrian Babylon, that was "the glory 
of kingdoms," and " the beauty of the Chaldees' excellen- 
cy!" Babylon, that made all the earth drunken with 
the wine of her "golden cup," is "as when God over- 
threw Sodom and Gomorrah ! " Tyre and Sidon fell under 
like prophetic denunciations, and for like reasons. Their 
riches were made a spoil; their merchandise became a 
prey ; their walls were broken down, and their pleasant 
houses destroyed; their stone, their timber, and their dust 
were laid in the midst of the water; the noise of their 
songs ceased, and the sound of their harps was heard no 
more. 

The influence of the trade of Phenicia upon Judah and 
Israel was most pernicious. Commanded to take its cities, and 
to destroy its wicked and idolatrous inhabitants, the He- 
brews not only failed to do as they were ordered, but formed 
alliances with the Phenicians, and entered into close commer- 
cial relations with them. ''Judah, and the land of Israel, they 
were thj merchants : they traded in thy market wheat of Min- 
nith, and Pannag, and honey, and oil, and halm." What 
Ezekiel thus said of Tyre was true of all Phenicia. The 
land of Israel became its granary, and received in exchange 
Tyrian purple, and many costly delicacies. Demoralized 
by this traffic with the Phenician cities, and the intimacy 
which resulted from it, the Israelites were the more ready 
to imbibe Phenician ideas. Evil communications with the 
idolatrous Zidonians corrupted the plain and simple man- 
ners of the Hebrews. The renunciation of the Monotheism 



78 ELIJAH VINDICATED, 

of their fathers and the adoption of the Baalism of the 
Phenicians easily followed, and the worship of Baal and 
Ashtoreth was the necessary sequence. The old religion 
was regarded as exclusive, unsociable, and gloomy; the 
Baalism of the Zidonians was comprehensive, companiona- 
ble, and genial. The worship of the sun, moon, and plan- 
ets, which the religion of Phenicia commended, even if it 
were " the most beautiful and perhaps the most natural form 
of idolatry ever presented to the human imagination," was 
defiled by obscenest rites. When once, therefore, the Baal- 
ism of Phenicia found a lodgment in the Hebrew heart and 
mind, the impurities of its worship attached to the worship 
of the Hebrews. And thus was Israel defiled and de- 
based by intimate commercial relations with the Zidonians. 
This demoralization, the nuptial alliance of the King of 
Israel with the wicked and idolatrous Phenician princess, 
and the frequent forbidden intermarriages between the sons 
and daughters of the Israelites with their Zidonian neighbors, 
greatly accelerated and fearfully increased. Nor has the 
evil influence of this commercial intercourse with Tyre and 
Sidon disappeared to this day. Idolatrous worship, as we 
have seen, ceased soon after the captivity, and the name of 
Baal was no more mentioned in Israel. But the Hebrew 
mind was so captivated by the successful commerce of the 
Phenicians, and the vast wealth and untold luxuries which 
it brought and accumulated, that to get gain by trading be- 
came its absorbing and dominant passion. Hence to this 
day the descendants of Judah and Benjamin, who, equally 
with Israel, traded with Phenicia, and through Athaliah, 
the daughter of Jezebel, and Ahaz and Manasseh were at 
times infected with its Baalism, are a race of merchants, 
traders, and bankers. Though they are no worshipers of 
Baal and Ashtoreth, though no symbolizing idols of wood 
or stone or brass or silver or gold are fiishioned by their 



ZAREPHATH, 79 

hands and kissed with their lips, yet as a race are they the 
intensest ^vorshipers of 

Mammon, the least erected spirit that fell 

From heaven, for even in heaven his looks and thouglits 

Were always downward bent, admiring more 

The richest of heaven's pavement, trodden gold, 

Than anght divine or holy else enjoyed 

In vision beatific. 



CHAPTER IX. 

ELIJAH GOES TO ZAREPHATH. 

STKANGE seems the providence which sent Elijah to 
a place wholly given up to the worship of Baal and 
Ashtoreth. Why was he not sent to the rival kingdom of 
Judah, Avhere there were many true worshipers of Jehovah ? 
"In the thirty and eighth year of Asa Icing of Judah, be- 
gan Ahah, the son of Omri, to reign over Israel." As Asa 
reigned forty and one years Ahab, at Asa's death, was in 
the fourth year of his reign. If Elijah appeared to Ahab 
before Asa died, he w^ould have had nothing to fear from 
the King of Judah ; for "Asa's heart was perfect with the 
Lord all his days." But if the prophet did not appear to 
Ahab in the days of Asa, then it must have been in the 
reign of Jehoshaphat, his son and successor. And if so, 
the Tishbite had nothing to fear from Jehoshaphat, for he 
"walked in all the ways of Asa his father; he turned not 
aside from it, doing that which was right in the eyes of the 
Lord" Not until after Ahab was slain at Ramoth-gilead ; 
not until after Jehovah's fiery steeds bore Elijah to heaven ; 
not until after Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers did Athali- 
ah, daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, and wife of Jehoram, 
King of Judah, introduce into her husband's kingdom the 
Baalism of her father and mother. Hence the prophet had 
nothing to apprehend from Baalism there. But it may be 
said that Jehoshaphat's alliance with Ahab made Judah an 
unsafe place for Elijah. But this alliance was not effected 
until years after the prophet's flight to Zarephath ; for the 
first part of Jehoshaphat's reign was occupied in building 
(80) 



ELIJAH GOES TO ZAEFPIIATH. 81 

fortresses, and otherwise strengthening his kingdom against 
the kingdom of Israel. And, besides, we know that Elijah, 
neai'ly three years after he went to Zarephath, just after the 
contest on Carmel and the flight from Jezreel, did pass 
through Judah to Beersheba. Hence it does seem strange 
that when God commanded the Tishbite to leave Cherith 
he did not order him to Judah. And stranger is it that he 
ordered him to an idolatrous town, in the closest alliance 
with Ahab, and in the center, in the very heart of Baalism. 
Certain we may be, if the then King of Judah — whether 
Asa or Jehoshaphat — was in alliance with Ahab, it was 
not such an alliance as would have allowed either of those 
pious kings, whose hearts were perfect with the Lord all 
their days, or who did that which was right in the eyes of 
the Lord, to deliver a prophet of Jehovah into the hands 
of an idolatrous worshiper of Baal. Assured, therefore, are 
we that the danger of Elijah's apprehension, if he should be 
discovered, was far greater in idolatrous and unfriendly Phe- 
nicia than in the pious and friendly kingdom of Judah. 

Why, then, was Elijah sent to Zarephath? It would 
surely seem easier for Elijah to have found a hiding-place 
in Judah than in a Phenician town. For there was no 
greater thoroughfare than the narrow plain of Phenice. In 
all the country west of the Jordan there was no equal space 
half so crowded. And if the prophet must go where Baal 
was supreme, why not hide him in some dark and densely 
shaded cave of, contiguous Lebanon ? Why not command its 
ravens to feed him ? why not give him water to drink from 
its unfailing springs, fed by the perpetual snows which crown 
its summits? why put him m a house, in the narrow plain 
on the sea-shore, by which thousands were continually 
passing and repassing? why fix his abode where hundreds 
of Ahab's subjects — many more than could have been found 
anywhere in Judah — must have been coming and going 
6 



82 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

every day? From whence did Israel draw its supplies dur- 
ing the long drought which parched the fields of Samaria? 
Why send him to Phenicia, which, if not suffering equally 
with Samaria from the drought, was cut oflT by Elijah from 
its granary in Palestine? The Phenician cities, no longer 
able to supply themselves w'ith bread from Palestine — 
whence they had been accustomed to get it — must procure 
it elsewhere, not only for themselves, but for their suffering 
neighbors in Israel. The ships of Tyre, and Sidon, and 
Zarephath, and Achzib, and Accho must bring it from 
Egypt, from Cyprus, from Utica, and from wherever they 
could find a granary. And when thus brought to these 
sea-port towns, Ahab's servants must transport it overland 
to JezreeJ and Samaria. And why, above all, in a time 
of great scarcity, when many must have perished from fam- 
ine, command a poor widow woman to shelter and sustain 
the prophet? Why not send him to the good and pious 
King Asa, if he was alive? or to the equally good and 
pious King Jehoshaphat, if Asa Avas dead, with the charge 
to feed and defend him? For the Lord God, by his proph- 
ets, did have communications with those pious kings, and 
make known to them his will. But if he could not trust 
his servant with the then King of Judah, were there no 
prophets there, and no pious worshipers, to whose care Eli- 
jah could safely be committed? If the good Obadiah, in 
Samaria, could hide a hundred by fifties in a cave, and feed 
them all, was there not some Obadiah in Judah who could 
hide and feed a single one of the Lord's prophets? If Eli- 
jah could be securely housed and sustained in unfriendly 
Zarephath — and that too by a poor widow woman, whose 
only food was just enough meal and oil for a single cake — 
was there no friendly house in Judah to give him shelter, 
and no friendly widow to divide with him her barrel nnd 
cruse? Yes, there were many safe hiding-places in Judah. 



ELIJAH GOES TO ZAREPHATH 83 

Most gladly the good King Asa or the good King Jehosha- 
phat would have received and protected the Lord's fugitive 
prophet. In the service of either there were those high at 
court who, if their king were unwilling, would have risked 
their all for the Lord's great prophet of Israel. And roany 
a widowed daughter of Judah v^^ould have esteemed it a 
blessed privilege to have had him under her roof. But the 
Lord God had his own way of providing for his servant 
Elijah. O Lord God of Israel, again we ask, w^ho hath 
searched out thy judgments? who hath found out thy ways? 
■who hath been thy counselor? who hath known thy mind 
that he may instruct thee? Our best answer to the ques- 
tion. Why did God send Elijah to the widow woman at Zare- 
phath? is: "Even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy 
sight" And this to us is an answer all-sufficient. It was 
best as it was ; and so it has always been, is noAV, and ever 
shall be, with every thing which our Father in heaven com- 
mands or does. We would not have had it otherwise; and 
sure w^e are that Elijah would not have had it different. 
It was best for the saints of God in Elijah's day, and for all 
who came after him, and it was best for Elijah. Sure we 
are that Elijah thought so then, and sure we are such was 
his judgment when the horses of fire and the chariot of fire 
bore him aloft, and when, on "the mountain apart," many 
years afterward, he witnessed the transfiguration of the 
Lord's anointed Prophet, Priest, and King. 

But while the best answer — faith's last and truest analy- 
sis — is as above, yet faith is not without certain specific re- 
plies, perfectly satisfactory to itself, and full of sweetest 
and divinest comfort. The precious example which Eli- 
jah's faith has given is of itself enough, and more than 
enough, to satisfy every true believer in covenant-keeping 
Jehovah. Elijah's God is our God. He who fed Elijah by 
the ravens, who feedeth the ravens themselves, and who mul- 



84 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 



tiplied the meal in the barrel and the oil in the cruse, will 
feed all them that put their trust in him. Away, then, 
with all anxious thought about the morrow! Away with 
such questions as, " What shall we eat? what shall we drink? 
and wherewithal shall we be clothed ? " Having first sought 
and found the kingdom of God and his righteousness, all 
these things — food, drink, raiment — shall be added unto us. 
Elijah's God, who is ours also, is the same to-day, yester- 
day, and forever. He is faithful that hath promised. And 
to the believer in his only-begotten Son, Christ Jesus our 
Lord, ^^all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him 
Amen'' 

When the word of the Lord came unto Elijah ordering 
him to Zarephath, "he arose and went to ZarephathJ' We 
will not conjecture the Tishbite's thoughts as he was draw- 
ing nigh to the town, which, for some time, was to be his 
a])ode. Such speculations may be harmless, but they profit 
little, seeing that they vary with every imagination which 
conceives them. Much of what we have read of Elijah in 
books has been the mere imaginings of those who have at- 
tempted to write his life and delineate his character, and 
from these imaginings many lessons have been drawn. The 
lessons may be true in themiSelves, but the speculations can- 
not all be true. Many of them are false, because they are 
inconsistent and contradictory. Many things, indeed, have 
been ascribed to Elijah which he never thought. If we un- 
derstand the Tishbite, he was always a man of unwavering 
faith, of implicit obedience, and of never-failing courage. 
These never fluctuated; they never failed him. He had 
his weaknesses, and in due time we expect to show what 
they were. But he was never wanting in faith, or obe- 
dience, or courage. No, not even when, after the contest 
on Carmel, he fled from Jezebel. The doubts and fears, 
the disobedience and oawardice, which have been attributed 



ELIJAH GOES TO ZAllEPHATIL 85 



to Elijah had no existence but in the imaginations of those 
who misunderstood and, therefore, misrepresented him. 
But we must not anticipate. 

We have no idea that Elijah, at Cherith, when the water 
in the brook began to fail, had a single misgiving. All the 
questionings and doubts and fears imputed to him by fancy 
had no place in Elijah's mind and heart. His faith was as 
firm as the rocks of the mountains of Gilead. The Tish- 
bite had no thought for the morrow. All comfort to the 
timid, drawn from Elijah's doubts and fears, and his final 
victory over them, is altogether misplaced and unfounded ; 
for he had no doubts; he had no fears. He who was fed 
day by day with the bread and flesh which the ravens 
brought to him knew that if Cherith failed his supply of 
water was sure. Timid, doubting child of God, troubled 
about the morrow, and anxiously inquiring, "What shall 
I eat? what shall I drink? and wherewithal shall I be 
clothed?" draw no comfort to yourself because Elijah was 
troubled by like questioning doubts and fears, for he had 
none. But take to yourself, as you may, solid comfort from 
the fact that the Tishbite's faith never wavered. He was a 
man of like passions with yourself — that is, he was human 
as you are human, he was flesh and blood as you are flesh 
and blood, and he was no more an angel than you are; 
and yet he was strong in faith, as you may be; and he had 
no anxious thought about the morrow, as, through grace, 
it may be with you. O thou of little faith! draw a lesson 
from the firmness of his faith; none from its weakness. 
What if the brook, which now gives you drink, be failing? 
what if its waters are diminishing daily before your eyes? 
what if the bare rock is liere and there appearing? Avhat if 
all that is left is some little pool that will itself soon be 
exhaled by the fiery sun? what if you are commanded to 
leave God's ravens that now supply you with food? what 



83 ELIJJII VINDICATED. 

if you are ordered to go where the prospect for support 
is apparently more unpromising than where you now 
are? What of all this? Child of heaven, your Father's 
word never faileth. When God commands, obey. Arise, 
and go to Zarephath! What if it belongeth to Zidon? 
■what if the place to which you are sent is in a strange 
country? in a wicked and idolatrous land? what if the per- 
son to whom you are sent, and upon whom you are to depend 
for daily bread, is a poor widow woman? what if you do not 
know her? Tarry not, child of God; question not. " Wien 
a man^s ways please the Lord, he maketh even his enemies to he 
at peace with him" The Lord will provide. The barrel of 
meal shall not waste; the cruse of oil shall not fail. Thou 
who art an heir of God, and a joint-heir with Christ, be en- 
couraged by the experience of Israel's sweetest singer: 

"I have been young, and now am old; 
Yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, 
Nor his seed begging their bread." 

Nor was the psalmist alone in this blessed experience. 
An eminent servant of God, who lived nearly three thou- 
sand years after the thirty-seventh Psalm was written, wrote 
this comment in his own old age on David's experience : "I 
believe this to be literally true in all cases. I am now gray- 
headed myself, I have traveled in different countries, and 
have had many opportunities of seeing and conversing with 
religious people in all situations in life, and I have not, to 
my knowledge, seen an instance to the contrary. I have 
seen no righteous man forsaken, nor any children of the 
righteous begging bread. God puts this honor upon all 
that fear him ; and thus careful is he of them and of their 
posterity.^' And to this the writer, who has lived nearly his 
threescore years, would add his own testimony. Not that 
we have not seen the righteous, and his seed after him, 
hi great straits, and reduced to poverty and want; not 



ELIJAH GOES TO ZAEEPITATH. 



that King David and Dr. Adam Clarke never saw the 
righteous or his children in need; but not one have 
we seen forsaken, or begg'mg bread; for God sent to 
them his ravens, and supplied their wants. He raised up 
friends for them who were to them such as were the ra- 
vens and the "widow woman of Zarephath to his servant 
Elijali. 

1 1 was enough for the prophet to know that God com- 
manded him to go to Zarephath, and had directed a widow 
woman there to sustain him. He was not concerned about 
the ways and means; he left all to God who commanded 
and promised. He had received his orders ; he knew where 
to go. It did not concern him that he might have to pass 
through countries filled with men in search of him. He 
had no fears because he was going to a land of idolaters 
who would be glad to lay violent hands upon him, and 
hurry him to the king at Jezreel. He had no doubts be- 
cause he had to depend for his daily bread upon a poor 
widow woman. Be not anxious for Elijah ; he is not anx- 
ious for himself. He goes knowing that the very hairs of 
his shaggy head are all numbered. He threads his way, by 
whatever route he takes, confident that no minion of Ahab 
or Jezebel shall apprehend him. He journeys under the 
assured protection of his God. He has minute directions 
for the way ; if he has none, his hand is in God's hand, and 
God is leading him. Nor is there any danger of his mak- 
ing a mistake, and going to the wrong house. There is but 
one dwelling in Zarephath to which he is going, and there 
is no possible likelihood of his missing it. There is but one 
widow woman in the Phenician town to whom he is directed, 
and there is not the slightest chance of his meeting with an- 
other. If not already told how to find her; if she has not 
already been described to him by "the word of the Lord," 
there is no doubt he will know all that ought to be known. 



ELIJAH VINDICATED. 



and at the right time. Wherefore we need not speculate as 
to how much was revealed to Elijah before he left Cherith, 
or what was disclosed to him by the way. We need not 
trouble ourselves about any of these matters, God is lead- 
ing his servant, and he will lead him right, and all this 
Elijah knows. But whether God leads or God points out the 
way, Elijah is going straight to the right place, and it shall 
be with him as God hath promised. Child of God, would 
you learn a lesson, and derive comfort from this part of 
Elijah's life? Go forward where God commands, as Elijah 
went, and you will go without a fear, without a doubt, and 
with implicit confidence, and with absolute assurance that it 
shall be with you as God hath said. 

The Tishbite has arrived at his journey's end. Before him 
is Zarephath. He has come to the gate of the city. And 
behold, the widow woman was there "gathering of sticks.'' 
It was, indeed, tlie widow woman. It was not a widow wom- 
an, but the widow woman— the very one to whom Elijah 
was directed. And Elijah knew her. This was the widow 
woman who w^as commanded to sustain him. There could be 
no doubt about her identity. She was without the gate "gath- 
ering of sticks" — such as were lying about, and as it was law- 
ful for the poor to pick up. The scene suggests many a poor 
Avoman in the streets of crowded cities, or in their suburbs, 
doing the same thing. Unable to buy fuel; too poor to 
purchase the smallest load of wood the countryman brings 
to market; shivering and poorly clad, on some cold and 
freezing winter's day, may be seen the poor "gathering 
of sticks " to make an humble loaf out of meal almost, if 
not quite, as low in the barrel as in the barrel of the widow 
of Zarephath, and to keep themselves and little ones from 
freezing and starving. O ye, who are daintily fed, and 
warmly clad, and sit, wn'thout a care, by a blazing fire of 
anthracite in the grate, while the sleet patters against the 



ELIJAH GOES TO ZABEPHATH. 89 

window-panes, and the cold blasts howl through the streets, 
and the mercury sinks low in the thermometer, have you 
no feeling for the half-starved and ill-clad children of pov- 
erty and toil ? Perhaps while the winter's storm is raging 
without, and you sit thus within beneath frescoed ceil- 
ing, with slippered feet, in easy-chair, and on velvet car- 
pet, you may be reading some imaginary tale of want that 
brings the unwonted tear to the eye, and causes you to feel 
its woes. You lie down at night on downy bed, sleep undis- 
turbed, arise in the morning, eat a sumptuous breakfast, 
put on your overshoes and warm great-coat, and then, with 
silken umbrella overhead, go to your counting-room, or ac- 
customed place of business. On the v/ay you pass, it may 
be, some hovel of the wretched poor. No coal-house filled 
with anthracite from the mine; no wood-house piled up 
with dried wood from the forest, sawed the right length and 
ready for use; and no pantry stored with necessaries and 
dainties, are there. But within are pale, ragged, hunger- 
pinched little ones, hovering over a few embers left from the 
sticks gathered by the mother the evening before, and eat- 
ing the last stale morsels doled by unwilling hands. On a 
couch of straw, with scanty covering, lies that mother sick 
with a fever, or stricken with pneumonia, brought on by 
exposure while "gathering of sticks" to make the fire, the 
last spark of which is almost gone out. Through the 
cracks and openings of the old, leaky, and weather-beaten 
shceling, the cold north -wind — the storm not yet over — 
is shrieking, benumbing the weak and tired limbs of the 
sufferer on her lonely couch. And as you pass by the door, 
does it turn grating upon its rusty hinges? and does some 
one of those little ones, who knows you well — your luxury 
and wealth — meet you with upturned face, and with im- 
portuning plea for help? Do you turn away from this child 
of want and sorrow, pleading sg eloquently for her grief 



90 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

smitten mother, and for that mother's fatherless children, 
her own suffering brothers and sisters? Where is the sym- 
pathy of last evening, which, in your luxurious home, you 
felt while reading some imaginary tale of just such suffer- 
ing as this, told in some novel by some gifted son or daugh- 
ter of genius ? Where is the tear, which, for a moment, 
came unbidden to your eye? Has the cold north wind of 
covetousness already so congealed it that no sun of benevo- 
lence shall ever be warm enough to thaw it? Where is the 
promise to remember the poor? Did not this very family, 
whose extreme poverty you well knew, whose appeals to 
your liberality you had often rejected, or dismissed with a 
miserable pittance, come up before you upbraidingl}^, ac- 
cusing conscience of covetous neglect ? and was not this the 
family which, on last night, you promised yourself to help 
liberally, and on this very day ? Where are your kindly feel- 
ings? where is your sentimentalism ? where are your good 
resolutions? where are your promises? Are all forgotten ? or, 
if remembered, do you send away the eloquent little pleader 
with reluctant dime, or with a ^^Be ye warmed and filled" 
and not give ^^ those things ivhich are needful for the bodyf" 
Away with such giving! away with such sympathy! The 
sympathy which weeps over imaginary suffering, and which 
gives stintedly and grudgingly to the real, is no sympathy 
at all. It is a travesty on all true human sympathy — much 
more on the divine. It is nothing but leaves; it is the 
tree without fruit, or, if it have fruit, it is fruit that is un- 
timely cast, and never ripens. Scarcely more deserving is 
such sympathy than his — which is none at all — whose bow- 
els of compassion are as frozen as snows on highest Al- 
pine peak. '^ Whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his 
brother have need, and shutteth up his boivels of compassion 
from him, how dwelleth the love of God. in himf" — "He 
that hath pity upon the j>oor le)ideth unto the Lord; " and, 



ELIJAH GOES TO ZAREPHATH, 91 

''Blessed is he that considereth the poor" God bless the man 
Avhose bowels of compassion are moved toward, and whose 
hands are swift to aid, the poor out in the cold north wind 
"gathering of sticks!" 



CHAPTER X. 

THE WIDOW WOMAN. 

AND whp.n Elijah came to the gate of the city and saw 
the widow woman "gathering of sticks," he called to 
her, and said: ''Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a 
vessel, that I may drink. And as she was going to fetch it, 
he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel 
of bread in thine hand. And she said. As the Lord thy God 
liveth, I have 7iot a cake, but a handful of meal in a barrel, 
and a little oil in a cruse; and, behold, I am gathering two 
sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that 
we may eat it, and die. And Elijah said unto her. Fear not ; 
go, and do as thou hast said; but make me thereof a little cake 
first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for 
thy son. For thus saith the Lord God of Lsrael, The barrel 
of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until 
the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth. And she 
went, and did according to the saying of Elijah ; and she, and 
he, and her house, did eat many days. And the barrel of 
meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to 
the word of the Lord, which he spake by Elijah.'^ 

This artless narrative, so charming in its simplicity, we 
have given just as our English Version, in language of pict- 
uresque beauty, has told it to us. It is so vivid, so realistic, 
that the prophet of God and the widow woman of Zarephath 
are before us as distinctly as if their images were impressed 
upon these visual orbs. We see the Tishbite as he draws 
near the gate of the Phenician city. Having passed by 
Sidon, if he made the journey by Damascus, or by Tyre, 
(92) 



THE WIDOW woman: 93 



if he came through the plain of Esdraelon, he arrived at 
the city "that belongeth to Zidon." Before him are the 
dark bkie waters of the Mediterranean; behind him are 
the tall cedars of Lebanon. On the sea-shore, between the 
sea and the mountain, in the narrow and fertile plain of 
Phenice — now as parched by the long drought as the region 
whence he came, or any part of the country through which 
he journeyed — is the Zidonian city in w^hich resides the 
widow woman upon whom he must rely for shelter and 
food. The hairy man before us, of sheep-skin mantle and 
with leathern girdle about his loins, is indeed "Elijah the 
Ttshbite." By these tokens we know him; by the same 
tokens King Ahaziah afterward knew him, when the mes- 
sengers, whom he sent to the god of Ekron, returned and 
told him what manner of man he was who met them by 
the way. Thirsty, hungry, and wearied by his long jour- 
ney from Cherith, he calls to the woman whom he meets at 
the gate. Elijah knows that the woman before him is the 
woman to whom he is sent; and the woman knew who 
called to her and said, "Fetch me, I pray thee, a little 
water in a vessel, that I may drink." For not only was 
Elijah directed to the woman, but the woman was directed 
to Elijah. Enough was divinely revealed to both. God 
did not leave tiiem without sure evidences of mutual rec- 
ognition. But he may not have made them so plain that 
the full knowledge of their relations should be instant and 
complete. For God only reveals enough of the way to 
make the journey one of faith, and not of sight. If the 
way ahead needs more light to direct our feet, the needed 
light is given, if our steps as far as we have gone have 
been ordered by the Lord. God will reveal enough to obe- 
dient faith to light up sufficiently ahead the road by which 
he has commanded us to go. The following fitly illustrates 
what we have been saying — w^e tell it as it is told: "A 



94 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

little boy was walking with his father through a piece of 
w^oods at night ; and they were lighted on their way by the 
glimmer of a lantern. The boy who was carrying the 
lantern complained to his father that the light shone but a 
short distance ahead; and he requested his father to turn 
back, because he could not see the way better. His father 
told him to proceed as far as he could see the way, and the 
light would continue to shine in advance of him." Blessed 
be God, the light always shines " in advance " far enough 
ahead to make us see that the way is safe and the footing 
sure ! 

How much light God gave to the widow woman we do 
not know. But we do know that it was enough, if followed, 
to make all his commands plain and easy. When ElijaK 
asked her to fetch him water, the woman, acting on the 
light she had, " was going to fetch it." But how ^ame she 
to be at the gate just at the moment that Elijah was draw- 
ing nigh? Faith has the true and ready answer: God had 
arranged it all. And how came she to obey the stranger 
BO readily and willingly? God had told her the signs by 
which she might know his prophet : " He is a hairy man ; 
he has upon his shoulders a sheep-skin mantle; a leathern 
girdle is about his loins; you will meet him at the gate 
while you are gathering of sticks; he will say to you, Fetch 
me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink. 
I have commanded him, while he is in Zarephath, to abide 
under thy roof; and I command thee to sustain him." 
Thus much, we may infer, was said to her. By these to- 
kens she knew that the prophet, of whose coming she had 
been foretold, was come to Zarephath. She had evidence 
to convince her that the prophet whom she was to entertain 
was at its gate; and she was convinced. Hence, when Eli- 
jah asked her to fetch him a little water, she questioned not, 
she delayed not ; she hastened to bring it ; she was on her 



THE WIDOW WOMAN. 95 

way — she was going — to fetch it. But her faith has its 
trial, and she must now enter upon it. God has command- 
ed her "to sustain" his prophet; but he has not told her 
how it is to be done. Her extremity — what means she had 
"to sustain" Elijah — is known to us; for we know tho 
whole inventory of her larder. We know that all she has 
of any thing to eat is just enough meal in an earthen jar — ■ 
barrel, in our Authorized Version — and just enough oil in 
a bottle — cruse, in the same Version — to make a single cake 
for herself and son. And we are persuaded she has not 
the smallest Phenician coin, or coin of any sort, wherewith 
to replenish the jar and bottle when that cake is baked and 
eaten. Besides, too, we remember that corn and oil, and all 
the necessaries of life, are at famine prices in Phenicia. Sa- 
maria, as we have seen, was its granary; but now the nar- 
row strip between Lebanon and the Mediterranean, occu- 
pied by numerous and populous cities, nearly all of whose 
inhabitants are consumers and non-producers, must^supply 
not only itself with bread, but Samaria and all neighbor- 
ing countries aifected by the drought. What, therefore, was 
the surprise of the widow when the prophet arrests her as 
"she was going to fetch" him water, calling to her, and 
saying, " Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine 
hand!^' This was too much for the woman. Water she 
could spare ; but bread she had none. The little meal she 
had was not yet bread ; she was even then out " gathering 
of sticks " to make it bread. And that little was her all. 
She was about to cook, she believed, the last cake herself 
and son would ever eat. And when that was gone, she and 
her son had nothing to do but to die. Widow of Zarephath, 
be not cast down ! AVhat is lacking to strengthen the faith 
that is in thee will soon be supplied. Your present great 
extremity is God's gracious opportunity. There is a w^ay 
"to sustain" the prophet of God as God has commanded 



ELIJAH VINDICATED. 



thee. How it can be done will soon be made plain ; and 
when it is done, it will bring life and health and blessing to 
thee and thine. And in after years, when Shiloh— the 
Hope of Israel and the Desire of nations — is come, he will 
thus commemorate his Father's great blessing to thee : ^'But 
I tell you oj a truths many widows were in Israel in the days 
of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six 
months, when great famine was throughout all the land; but 
unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city 
of Sidon, unto a woman that was a ividow" 

When Elijah called to the woman, and asked her for 
bread, she must have been well-nigh dismayed. It is fair 
to presume that certain thoughts — which we shall presently 
suggest — were present to her mind. But before we state 
them, we will say, and once for all, that we will suggest noth- 
ing, either here or elsewhere, concerning this woman, or 
Elijah, or any one else, which we do not believe warranted 
by the facts. We shall attribute no thoughts to any one 
for the mere sake of pointing a moral or drawing lessons 
from them, however true or useful the moral and lessons 
in themselves may be. Several able works on Elijah which 
we have read are filled and profusely adorned with beauti- 
ful morals and instructive lessons founded on thoughts 
ascribed to Elijah, which Elijah never had, unless he had 
been fickle and disobedient, doubting and cowardly. All 
along in the life of the Tishbite — at Cherith, at Zarephath, 
on Carmel, at Jezreel, at Beersheba, under the juniper- 
tree, and at Horeb — many conflicting and contradictory 
things have been said of him. Many doubts and fears, 
and weaknesses and temptations, and weights and beset- 
ments poor Elijah is supposed to have had, that some lesson 
may be drawn therefrom for the admonition and comfort 
of some weak, timid, or erring brother. Give to the brother 
all the admonition and comfort he needs ; but let the lesson 



THE WIDOW WOMAN, 97 

be drawn from Elijah's faith, courage, strength. For there 
was not one of the Old Testament saints more eminent in 
all these regards than Elijah the Tishbite. But the writers 
of the books to which we allude may answer, " We have 
often supposed that Elijah had such and such thoughts — 
not that he actually had them — that we might say a word 
in season to those who do have them, and are troubled 
thereby." To such we reply : This is the very thing to 
which we are objecting. We ask, What is your concep- 
tion of Elijah's true character? If you have conceived it, 
and have a definite idea of it, then let every thing you say 
of him, let every thought you ascribe to* him,^be consistent 
with that conception. Otherwise, the Elijah you paint in 
words will be as- incongruous as the picture Horace con- 
demns in the first lines of his epistle to the Pisos. By 
proper contrasts you may say all you wish to say, and far 
more truthfully and justly. For there are characters, both 
in the Old and in the New Testament, that will fuTuish ap- 
posite illustrations sufficient for your purpose.. But we 
have said enough for the present. We alluded to this once 
before, and may have occasion to refer to it again. What 
we wrote before, and what we write now, has been written 
to prepare the reader beforehand, that he may not be taken 
by surprise when certain things are written at another time 
and place. 

But to return. We were about to suggest certain thoughts 
we apprehend were present to the woman's mind when the 
Tishbite asked for bread. " God, it is true," she might say, 
" has commanded me to sustain his prophet, and the man 
who has just now asked me for bread is he. I have no doubt 
about his identity ; I cannot be mistaken. I see the sheep- 
skin mantle and the leathern girdle; the man, too, has 
shaggy hair; he is a hairy man; lie has asked me to 
fetch him a little water in a vesbcl. that he may drink; and 
7 



98 ELIJAH VINDICylTED. 

1 have met hira at the gate while gathering of sticks. It 
is as the Lord has told me. But the maii asks me for bread, 
and I have none; neither has the Lord told his handmaiden 
how to sustain his prophet. - I thought the Lord who com- 
manded me to sustain him would surely put me in the way 
of doing it, but he has not." Reasoning thus with herself, 
as we may well infer, she accordingly answered Elijah, and 
said : "As the Lord thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but a. 
handfid of meal in a harixly and a little oil i7i a cruse ; and, 
behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dresa 
it for me and my son, that ive may eat it, and die." 

Seldom, perhaps, has extremity appeared greater. Her 
all was just enough to make a cake for herself and son ; 
and when that was eaten her whole larder was exhausted. 
When the barrel was scraped of the last dust of meal, when 
the cruse was drained of the last drop of oil, she saw nei- 
ther the probability nor the possibility of obtaining any 
more. To eat the last cake, and then die, was all she saw 
before herself and son ; and yet this last cake the man of 
God asks for himself. Yf ill she dress it for him ? will she 
give her last morsel to the prophet? Mark, she has not 
denied him; she only tells him the truth. He asks for 
bread ; there is none to give. But there is a little meal, and 
there is a little oil ; and she had just succeeded in finding two 
sticks. With them she v/as going to kindle a fire that she 
might bake a little cake on the coals. But what says the 
prophet when the widow tells him her deep poverty and 
distress? "Fear not,'' is the prophet's answer; "go, and do 
as thou hast said; but make me thereof a little cake first, and 
bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son." 
What a request! She has only enough for a single cake. 
The prophet knows it, and yet he asks for that; and she is 
asked to give it to a stranger, and he a strong and able- 
bodied man. When has means ever seemed more inade- 



TEE WIDO^V WOZIAN. 99 

quate? Was ever request more seemicgly cold and selfish? 
But had not the Lord God commanded her " to sustain " 
this very stranger? Yes: for he told Elijah, when he or- 
dered him to Zarephath, that such was his command to the 
widow woman there. The Lord had not revealed to her 
how this was to be done. But Elijah, who now fully com- 
prehends the woman's extremity, instantly comes to her 
relief, and strengthens her faith. ^^ Fear not,'' he says, " to 
make me a little cake first; there is enough for me and for 
thee and thy son. For the Lord God of Israel, who com- 
manded thee to sustain me" — 80„in effect, the prophet tells 
her — " has authorized me to say, The barrel of meal shall 
not luaste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that 
the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth.'' It is enough. The 
woman's faith has received the strengthening it needed. 
She has heard the promise of God by the mouth of his 
prophet, and from that moment believes it will be to her 
and her son and to the prophet according to the Lord's 
promise. ^Yherefore, without hesitation, without a mo- 
ment's questioning, she, who was going to fetch water to 
the prophet that he might drink, hurries home to make 
him the cake also. For ''she luent " — no doubt takins^ the 
prophet along with her to her lowly dwelling — "and did 
according to the saying of Elijah ; and she, and he, and her 
house, did eat many days. And the barrel of meal wasted 
not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of 
the Lord, which he spake by Elijah." 

One cannot fail to observe the extraordinary faith of this 
widow woman of Zarephath. It was perhaps only surpassed 
by that of the Syrophenician woman in the Gospels. And 
it is something remarkable that both women were of the 
same country — both belonged to "the coasts of Tyre and 
Sidon." The woman of the Gospels was a Canaanitish 
woman, descended from the heathen Canaanites who peo- 



100 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

pled the plain of Phenice. But it has been a question to 
what race the woman of Zarephath belonged. The com- 
mon opinion seems to be that she too was a Canaanite, and 
had been a heathen worshiper of the gods of the Zidoni- 
ans. But we are inclined to believe she was a daughter of 
Abraham, and a true worshiper of the God of Israel. It 
is well known, as has been noticed, that what was known as 
Phenicia in Elijah's day had been assigned by lot to Asher, 
and that many of his descendants dwelt along its, plain. 
And, as we have also seen, the Asherites, instead of driv- 
ing out the Canaanites as they had been commanded, lived 
among them and intermarried with them. If not a full 
Hebrew, it is more than likely that the widow woman of 
Zarephath had Hebrew blood in her veins, and was brought 
up in the religion of the Hebrews. Hiram, of Tyre, the 
cunning workman who wrought the curious and elaborate 
work of Solomon's Temple, had a man of Tyre for his 
father and a Jewish woman for his mother. Something 
like that may have been true of the widow woman of Zar- 
ephath ; and if true, it was less strange that God ordered 
her to sustain his prophet. But if not a Hebrew, or de- 
scended from parents one of whom was a Hebrew — if she 
was a heathen, and descended from heathens — it is the more 
remarkable that God sent Elijah to her, and her faith is the 
greater marvel. If not equal to the faith of the Syrophe- 
nician woman of the New Testament, the faith of the wid- 
ow woman of Zarephath deserves a place next to that of 
her who went to Jesus of Nazareth to have him cast the 
devil out of her daughter. And if they were both Canaan- 
itish and heathen women, then the one furnishes the most 
extraordinary example of faith in the Old Testament Script- 
ures, and the other the most extraordinary in the New. 
The Master showed his appreciation of the faith of the 
woman of Syrophenicia by the unparalleled and severe tests 



THE WIDOW WOMAN. 101 

to which he put it, and by the answer, " womaoi, great is 
thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou ivilt." And he showed 
the very high estimate he placed upon the faith of her of 
Zarephath when he said, Though there were many widows 
in Israel in the days of Elias, unto none of them was Elias 
sent, save unto the widow woman of Sarepta. 

But let us look at this saying of our Lord a little more 
closely. And that we may have it before us, let us give it 
again : ^'Biit I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Is- 
rael in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three 
years and six months, when great famine was throughout all 
the land; but unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto 
Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that tvas a widow J' 
Many widows were in Israel, but unto none of them — Isra- 
el's widows — was Elias sent, save unto the widow woman 
of Sarepta. Is not this widow woman called by our Lord 
a widow m Israeli And were not these widows in Israel 
Hebrews? The widow woman of Zarephath was one of 
them ; and therefore she was a Jewess, though living in a 
Phenician city. Sarepta was not in Israel; but the Master 
said this woman was a widow in Israel — that is, she was a 
Hebrew. And this, it seems to us, settles the question. It 
proves that she was a daughter of Abraham, residing, in 
the days of Elijah, in " a city that belongeth to Zidon." 
But whether an Asherite and born in Phenicia, or wheth- 
er of some other tribe and born in Samaria she had 
moved to Phenicia, we do not know. But we know enough 
to believe that she was a Hebrew, and brought up in the 
religion of the Hebrews. Nor was she an idolatrous He- 
brew widow, but a true w^orshiper of the God of Israel, 
who had not bowed the knee to Baal or kissed his image. 
But did not this woman say to Elijah, "As the Lord thy 
God liveth," etc.? and does not this imply that the Lord 
God was Elijah's God, but not the God of the woman? 



102 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 



We do not see that this proves any thing ; for one saint, 
addressing another, may not inappropriately say the same. 
When Moses, speaking to the children of Israel, said, ''He 
is thy God that hath done for thee great and terrible things;' 
etc., was God their God and not the God of Moses? When 
David, in the sixty-eighth Psalm, said of the princes of Ju- 
dah, etc., "Thy God hath commanded thy strength;' etc., 
was not God the God of David also? And when "the 
Spirit came upon Amasai," and he said, ''Thine are we, 
David, and on thy side, thou son of Jesse; peace, peace be 
unto thee, and peace be to thine helpers; for thy God helpeth 
thee;' etc., was God David's God and not Amasai's? And 
when good Obadiah, who " feared the Lord greatly," and 
hid the one hundred prophets from Jezebel's wrath, said to 
Elijah, "As the Lord thy God liveth;' etc. — the identical 
oath of the woman — was Obadiah an idolatrous heathen? 
Wherefore, the use of " thy God " proves nothing. The 
widow woman twice called Elijah " man of God " — an ad- 
dress that might be more appropriately relied upon to show 
that she believed in but one supreme personal God, and that 
Elijah was his servant. But neither, by itself, is an argu- 
ment of any weight. If legitimate, the latter has greater 
weight than the former. But however this may be, we 
shall continue to believe that the widow woman was a He- 
brew believer, and not a heathen Gentile. And while, in 
this view, her faith may not appear as extraordinary as it 
would had she been a heathen and a worshiper of Baal ; 
yet it was a most marvelous and most precious example 
of the power of faith. Her faith is still a precious legacy, 
which has come down to us from Old Testament times; 
and it shines more and more brightly through the ages. 
And wherever the law and the Gospels are proclaimed 
throughout the world the widow Avoman of Zarephath, 
down to the last of time, will be mentioned along with 



THE WIDOW WOMAN, 103 

the woman of Syroplienicia, and the widow who cast in 
her whole living into the treasury of the Lord, and the 
woman Avho broke the alabaster-box and poured the oint- 
ment on the head of her Redeemer. 



CHAPTER XI. 

LIFE AT ZAliEPHATH. 

FOR over two years and a half Elijah abode under 
the humble roof of the widow of Zarephath. One 
may be curious to know how he spent his time during his 
long sojourn there. Beyond the society of the widow and 
her son, he was as secluded as in the cave on the banks of 
the Cherith. Less alone, perhaps, was he in the mountain 
wilds before Jordan than in the busy Phenician city on the 
Mediterranean. A stranger in London, even though he 
has the freedom of the great cHy, and is permitted to come 
and go as he pleases, is never so alone as when he walks the 
crowded thoroughfares, and visits the frequented resorts of 
that metropolis of the world. Shut him up in the Tower, 
or in the old Bailey, or confine him to a room in a hotel, or 
in some private dwelling, where he can see the eager crowds 
coming and going, but with which he is not permitted to 
mingle, and he will experience a sense of loneliness greater 
than that of Alexander Selkirk on the island of Juan Fer- 
nandez. The larger the crowds and the busier the life 
which he sees without, the more lonely he will be v^^ithin. 
For some such reason Elijah was more alone at Zarephath 
than at Cherith ; as in a prison he lived for nearly three 
years. No one knew he was there save the widow and her 
boy. By them alone was he seen, and with them alone must 
he hold converse. But while his Phenician dwelling was as 
much a secret as his abode in the mountain-cave, it is fair 
to presume he could look out upon the bustling world 
around while no eye was permitted to look in upon his re- 
(104) 



LIFE AT ZABEPHATH. 105 

treat. Situated midway between Tyre and Sidon, where 
the plain, with Lebanon on the east and the Mediterranean 
on the west, is only a mile in width, Zarephath was on the 
road connecting those two great maritime Phenician cities. 
Besides those who traded directly wdth Zerephath by land 
and sea, the prophet could behold multitudes carrying their 
wares to Tyre and Sidon, and returning laden with the 
costly merchandise received in exchange. There he could 
see caravans from Syria bringing fine linen, and coral, and 
agate; from Togarmah, leading horses and mules; from 
Dedan, bearing horns of ivory and ebony; from Judah and 
Israel, carrying honey and balm; from Damascus, the wine 
of Helbou, and white wool ; from Kedar, lambs, and rams, 
and goats; and from Sheba and Eaamah, spices, and pre- 
cious stones, and gold. Merchants from Egypt, from Cy- 
prus, from Crete, from Sardinia, from the Balearic Isles, 
from the Peloponnesus, from Hispania, from the^shores of the 
Caspian, and even from distant Indus, were to be seen in 
the open fairs, or on the streets, or passing along the coast- 
road to Tyre and Sidon. The Mediterranean was whitened 
with the sails of ships of Zarephath, inward or outward 
bound, or of those from its sister maritime towns ; and the 
songs of the rowers, in cadence with the sweep of their 
oaken oars of Bashan, borne over the dark blue waters, 
fell upon the ears of the secluded prophet. Here, along the 
quays, the noisy sailors were loading and unloading various 
wares of the Phenician export and import trade. Not un- 
frequently armed men — the Persian, Lydian, or Lycian 
mercenaries, whom the Phenician towns employed in their 
armies — tramped by Elijah's abode. To him the noises of 
the artificers in iron, in brass, in tin, in silver, and in gold 
were no uncommon sounds. Elijah heard the hammers of 
the ship-carpenters and calkers along the shore, and the 
blows of the axraen and hewers of wood resounding among 



106 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

the cedars of Lebanon; and he saw the smoke ascending 
from the furnaces of the glass-factories of Zarephath. And 
what was an especial abomination to the prophet of Israel's 
God, his eyes must have often beheld the priests of Baal and 
Ashtoreth, clad in the splendid vestments of their priestly 
office, and leading victims garlanded for the sacrifice, march- 
ing in solemn pomp and in imposing procession to the altars 
and temples of those false Phenician gods. 

But the secluded life of the prophet within was not with- 
out its compensations. His life, though inactive, was none 
the less consecrated to God, and spent in his service. For 
he was there at Zarephath, as at Cherith, by the will of 
God. Nor did he serve God less at Zarephath than for- 
merly at Jezreel, and afterward on Mount Carmel. Pa- 
tient waiting upon God in the order of his providence, or 
express commands, is as acceptable service as the most 
active employment. Indeed, greater grace is required to 
wait and suffer than to do and dare. God only asks that 
we be found faithful, whether the work which he gives us 
to do demands patient waiting or active labor. The meas- 
ure of his demands is always proportioned to our gifts and 
opportunities. Who does not recall, as illustrating this 
thought, Milton's exquisite sonnet on his own blindness? 

Doth God exact day-labor, light denied, 

I fondly ask? But Patience, to prevent 
That murmur, soon replies, God doth not need 

Either man's work or his oivn gifts; who best 

Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best: his state 
Is kingly; thousands at his bidding speed, 

And post o'er land and ocean without rest; 

They also serve who only stand and wait. 

Elijah's tarrying at Cherith and at Zarephath was as 
necessary to him as Joseph's prison life in Egypt, and 
Moses's residence in Midian, and Ezekiel's sojourn by the 
Chebar were necessary to them. Cherith and Zarephath 



L^IFE AT ZAREPHATH, 107 

were schools in which God trained Elijah for the great con- 
test on Carmel. The man who, in solitude, patiently waited 
Jehovah's will for three years and a half — who, during those 
long years, was engaged in meditation, in prayer, and in 
contemplation of his works in creation, providence, and 
grace, and was in daily communion and fellowship with 
him — was being daily trained and strengthened for Carmel's 
fiery day. 

But the prophet's seclusion at Zarephath differs in im- 
portant respects from his seclusion at Cherith. At Cherith 
Elijah was Avithout any human society; at Zarephath he 
abode under the same roof with the widow and her son. At 
Cherith, Elijah was fed(^by ravens; there Ave saw 

the ravens with their horny beaks 
Food to Elijah bringing even and morn. 
Though ravenous, taught to abstain from what they brought, 

at Zarephath, the widow Vvoman prepared his morning and 
evening meal. Day by day she made ready a cake for the 
prophet, and a cake for herself and son. Day by day the 
barrel was scraped and the cruse was drained ; and yet day 
by day an invisible hand replenished that barrel and that 
cruse, putting into them each day just as much as was taken 
out the day before. And so the meal never wasted, and the 
oil never failed. 

But let us look in upon this family circle at Zarephath. 
The bold Tishbite, the rugged Gileadite, the stern prophet 
of God, was as gentle and tender and kind as he was bold 
and rugged and stern. A heart full of sympathy beat 
beneath that shaggy breast; bowels of compassion stirred 
under that sheep-skin mantle. In Avhat sweet ministries, 
and in Avhat delightful converse the secluded life of the in- 
mates of the Avidow's dAvelling at Zarephath A\^as spent ! The 
morning, noon, and evening sacrifice smoked daily on the 
family altar, and as a SAveet-smclling savor ascended heav- 



108 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

enward. Moses and the law till Samuel were read and ex- 
pounded by the prophet of God. The triumphant odes of 
Miriam and Deborah, and the Messianic psalms of David, 
were rehearsed, or sung with voices in harmony with their 
exultant numbers. They would speak of the Shiloh which 
was to come, and talk of the future glory of the virgin 
daughter of Israel who should give birth to the Messias. 
All this, and much more, we may reasonably infer was a 
daily and nightly service, if the widow woman was indeed 
a Hebrew and a worshiper of the God of Israel. Nor can we 
suppose much less if she was a devout heathen anxiously 
inquiring the way of salvation, and a teachable inquirer at 
the feet of God's anointed prophet. 

And what shall we say of the intercourse between the 
Tishbite and the widov^^'s son? The age of the boy is not 
told us ; but we may correctly infer, from what was said of 
him when he was taken sick and died, he was of tender 
years. For when the breath left his body the Tishbite 
" tooh him out of her bosom, and carried hivi uj) into a loft 
where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed." He was 
yet in childhood, and at an age when the j^'oung mind is 
most easily acted upon by influences from without. We 
may well imagine the closest and most endearing intimacy 
between him and the prophet. The boy's innocent prattle 
and guileless ways, no doubt, deeply interested Elijah, and 
helped to beguile the tedium of his long confinement. It 
is pleasant to picture him climbing the knees, and running 
his tiuy fingers through the shaggy hair of the Tishbite. 
Ar^d we are certain it was the delight of the man of God to 
watch the buddings of his boyish mind, and early impress 
it with the thoughts of God and religion. Such of God's 
dealings with the children of Israel as could be made plain 
to his youthful understanding the prophet would not fail to 
rehearse and explain. The whole story of Joseph, from his 



LIFE AT Z ARE P HATH. 109 

boyhood in Hebron till he Nvas embalmed and put in a cof- 
fin in Egypt; of Moses, from the bulrushes till Jehovah 
buried him in Moab, before Beth-peor ; and of Samuel, from 
his birth till his burial at Ramah, would be often told. The 
prophet would not forget to tell the wonders which the Lord 
God wrought in Egypt before Pharaoh — the passage of the 
Red Sea, the water which flowed from the smitten rock, the 
manna which rained down from heaven, and the column of 
cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night, which rested 
upon the tabernacle through all the journeyings of the Is- 
raelites in the wilderness till it was pitched in the plains of 
Moab, over against Jericho. Time enough the prophet of 
God had to tell the listening boy of Israel's heroes and 
mighty men of war — of Joshua, of Caleb, of Gideon, of 
Barak, of Samson, of Jephthah, and of David — "w/io, 
through faith, subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, oh- 
tained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, . . . . escaped 
the edge of the sword, out of iveahiess were made strona, 
ivaxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens." 
The prophet could not then, it is true, tell the boy how the 
saints "quenched the violence of fire," or how "women 
received their dead raised to life again." For the three 
HebrcAv captives had not yet been delivered from the " burn- 
ing fiery furnace" in the plain of Dura; nor had any one 
been raised from the dead. But these are things we can 
tell to our children. Little did the prophet and the wid- 
ow woman and her boy then know that themselves would 
soon give birth to the saying, " Women received their dead 
raised to life again,'' and enable all who came after them to 
add it to fiiith's great triumphs. For Elijah was the first 
to bring back the dead to life; the widow was the first who 
received her dead raised to life again ; and the widow's son 
was the first to whose body tlie life returned after the soui 
had taken its flight to the unseen world of spirits. 



110 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

But we come now to the dark shadow which fell on that 
widowed mother's dwelling: ^^And it came to pass after 
these things, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the 
house, fell sick; and his sickness was so sore, that there was 
no breath left in hira." The sickness was sudden, and as 
suddenly fatal The voice of the innocent prattler was 
hushed in death, the mother's darling was a lifeless corpse 
in the house, and the mother's grief knew no bounds. Her 
only joy was fled ; the hope of her declining years, before 
it had fairly budded, was nipped by the icy hand of death. 
Her husband, on whose strong arm she had leaned, had 
been taken away; and her only solace in affliction was this 
boy — perhaps their only child — whom father and mother 
received as a new pledge of unfailing wedded love. At 
the father's death, on this boy she placed the whole wealth 
of a widowed mother's love, sanctified and intensified by 
suffering. He was the light of the house; but the light 
was gone out in darkness. The day she met the prophet 
she expected to eat with the boy their last meal ; and then 
mother and boy w^ere to lie down and die. But her dead 
hopes had been quickened into life by the assuring words 
of the prophet of God. The meal had not wasted, the oil 
had not failed, the lives of mother and son had been saved, 
and their home was made happy by the presence of the 
prophet, at whose w^ord the meal and oil were being contin- 
uously multiplied in the barrel and cruse. All the fond 
anticipations of the future — in which at one time she had 
indulged, but which had been dissipated by the famine — 
had been revived by the Tishbite's words. Relieved of the 
fear of death by famine, the thought of death entering the 
charmed circle of her household had no more place in her 
thoughts. The prophet's presence was a guarantee of life. 
The prophet's God, who saved both herself and son from 
starving, would surely, as long as his prophet remained be* 



LIFE AT ZAREPIIATH. Ill 

Death her roof, guard her home against the approach of 
death. But if he should come, least of all did she think that 
his darts Avould be aimed at the boy. But now that death 
had entered her dwelling, that his pointed shafts had pierced, 
with deadly wound, her darling and pride, her faith in the 
prophet and in the prophet's God was tried to the utmost. 
Stunned by the suddenness and severity of the blow, the 
widowed mother gave way to paroxysms of grief which 
found vent in passionate remonstrance against the cruelty 
of the deed — an act which she ascribed to the prophet, to 
whom she had given food and shelter. " WJiat have I to do 
with thee" she cried, " thou man of God f " Upbraiding 
herself for her sin — what special sin, if any, we know not — 
she accused the prophet of being the author of her sin's 
punishment. "J.r^ thou come unto me,," she vehemently 
cried, "to call my sin to remembrance, and to slay my sonf" 
Widow of Zarephath, what Elijah's God hath done thou 
knowest not now, but thou shalt know presently, and the 
knowledge thereof will bring comfort and joy to thy troub- 
led heart! 

The stern prophet is now all tenderness and gentleness. 
He ui)braids not the remonstrance of the anguished mother. 
No reproof escapes his lips. He utters no word in his own 
defense. His heart is too full of sympathy to blame the 
mother's hasty and impassioned accusation. He is pro- 
foundly moved because this dire calamity has fallen upon 
the friendly house that gave him food and lodging and a 
hiding-place from his enemies. The death of the boy, at 
such a time and under such circumstances, is as mysterious 
to him as it seemed to the woman cruel and vindictive. 
He speaks no word in justification or in explanation of the 
terrible blow. On the contrary, he acts as if he feels that 
his own honor and the honor of his God had been compro- 
mised. To the won:ian he gently says, " Give me thy son:" 



112 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 



and, takiDg hira " out of her bosom," lie carries hira to his 
own upper room, and lays him upon his own bed. Alone 
'with God and the dead child, he vehemently expostulates 
with him who had taken the child's life. "And he cried 
unto the Lord, and said, Lord, my God, hast thou also 
brought evil upon the widow with whom L sojourn, by slaying 
her sonf" Elijah is terribly in earnest; his cry is impas- 
sioned and importunate. Three times, in agony, he stretch- 
es himself upon the child. He batters heaven's gates with 
his entreaties, and will take no denial. With pathetic ex- 
j)ostulations and fervid intercessions, he storms the throne 
of heaven's Eternal King. He " cried unto the Lord, and 
said, Lord, my God, L pray ihee, let the child's soid come 
into him again." Nothing short of life restored to the boy 
will satisfy Elijah. He who took the boy's young life must 
give it back. Nothing else will be a recompense to the 
widow^ed mother for the calamity which despoiled her home 
and wrung her heart. And nothing else will vindicate the 
honor of God and the honor of his prophet. The patriarch 
did not wrestle with the angel of the covenant more ear- 
nestly and persistently for his own life, when it was threat- 
ened by his WTonged and oifended brother, than Elijah 
prayed for the life of the son of the widow of Zarephath. 

What a prayer! what a request! Nothing like it had 
been heard in Israel. Is the Tishbite in his right senses? is 
he at himself? is he not as much beside himself as the an- 
guished mother? For whoever heard that one dead had 
been restored to life again? Had such a prayer ever been 
offered before by one inspired of God? Enoch was not; 
for God took him: "Enoch was translated that he should 
not see death; and was not found, because God. had trans- 
lated him." While yet alive God caught him up to heaven. 
And yet, not even he, after his translation, returned, and 
lived again upon the earth. No human soul, having once 



LIFE AT Z ARE P HATH. 113 

left it, ever lived again in the flesh. Not one, having once 
returned to God who gave it, ever again tenanted the earth- 
ly house of its tabernacle. But what had not been heard 
of before, Elijah asks ! He prays that the living soul may 
return to the dead child ; that the dead corpse may be quick- 
ened into life; that the soul may again inhabit its body of 
flesh and blood ; that the boy may be restored alive to his 
mother. And the strange request is heard ! the aforetime 
unheard-of prayer is answered! Elijah prevails with God! 
^^And the Lord heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of 
the child came into him again, and he revived. And Elijah 
took the child, and brought him down out of the chamber into 
the house, and delivered him unto his mother; and Elijah 
said, See, thy son liveth ! And the woman said to Elijah, Now 
by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word 
of the Lord in thy mouth is truth.'' 

Blessed be the Lord God of Elijah ! For from the Tish- 
bite's day till now it has been known that it is not an in- 
credible thing that God can raise the dead. Ever since he 
came down from that upper room at Zarenhath and deliv- 
ered to its mother the dead child restored to life, it has been 
truthfully said, " Women received their dead raised to life 
again." The widow of Zarephath was the first on whom 
this honor was bestowed, and Elijah was the honored in- 
strument by which it was done. The £hunammite was the 
second; Elisha, Elijah's successor, on whom Elijah's mantle 
fell, was the prophet by whom the Lord God raised her 
dead son to life again. The widow of Nain was the third; Je- 
sus of Nazareth, by his own word, called her dead son back 
to life from his bier. The sisters — Martha and Mary — 
were the fourth, whose dead brother Lazarus Jesus raised 
from the grave. Elijah and Elisha had no power in them- 
selves to raise the dead; their power was all of God. But 
Jesus had the power in himself; for he is the resurrection 
8 



114 ELIJAH VINDICATED, 

and the life. By raising the dead in his own name and by 
his own authority, he proclaimed himself to be the Son of 
God with power. And this power was forever confirmed 
by his own triumph over death and resurrection from the 
dead. Elijah and Elisha were his ministers and servants; 
Jesus is Lord of all. Elijah and Elisha were men of like 
passions with ourselves; Jesus is the brightness of the 
Father's glory, and the express image — the exact counter- 
part — of the Father's substance, essence, or essential being. 
Elijah and Elisha were but men; Jesus is Immanuel — God 
with us, the everlasting Father, very and eternal God. 
Elijah and Elisha spoke as they were moved by the Holy 
Ghost; Jesus himself is truth — his words are spirit and 
they are life. Elijah and Elisha pronounced judgments by 
God's commands ; Jesus is Judge of quick and dead. Eli- 
jah and Elisha performed all their miracles in the name 
and by the authority of God ; Jesus has all authority and 
all power in heaven, on earth, and under the earth. Nei- 
ther Elijah nor Elisha could perform a single creative act; 
Jesus made all things that are made, and without him 
there was not any thing made that was made. Neither Eli- 
jah nor Elisha could save a single soul from sin and death ; 
Jesus has brought to light life and immortality by the 
gospel, and is able to save them to the uttermost that come 
unto God by him. Elijah and Elisha were but prophets; 
Jesus is the Saviour of the world, of whom Moses in the 
la vv, and the prophets, did write, the only name under heaven 
given among men whereby we must be saved. Elijah and 
Elisha, like all their fellow-servants the prophets, served on 
earth, and serve in heaven ; Jesus is King of kings and 
Lord of lords, at whose name every knee must bow. Eli- 
jah and Elisha could only point out the way that leads 
from earth to heaven ; Jesus is the w'ay, the truth, and the 
life. Elijah and Elisha were commissioned to show that 



LIFE AT ZAEEPHATH. 115 

it is not an incredible thing that God can raise the dead; 
Jesus, by laying down his own life and taking it up again, 
has demonstrated his power to raise from the dead all that 
are in their graves. We honor Elijah and Elisha, because 
they were the lirst to show God's power to raise the dead ; 
to Jesus we ascribe all honor and blessing and power and 
dominion^ because he is over all, God blessed forever, 
conqueror of death and hell, at whose voice, in the last 
day, all that are in the graves shall come forth — they 
that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and 
they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damna- 
tion. 

It was a day of anguish and despair in the lonely dwell- 
ing at Zarephath when the son of its widowed mistress sud- 
denly fell sick and died. It was a blithesome day, radiant 
with hope, in the same house at Zarephath when the prophet 
of God delivered to his mother that boy brought back to 
life again. That mother's faith in God and in his prophet, 
•which, by the death of her boy, had received a sudden and 
terrific shock, is now as suddenly and gloriously revived by 
his life. Terrible w^as the ordeal through which it passed ; 
it is now like fine gold tried in the hottest furnace and pu- 
rified of all its dross. And to Elijah the happy, joyous 
mother exultingly exclaims : "Now by this I know that thou 
art a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in thy 
mouth is truth ! " 

Blessed was the widow woman of Zarephath, who saw her 
son afler he was raised to life again ! Blessed are they also 
who, having not seen, yet have believed that God is able to 
raise the dead ! And all glory be to the Lord God of Elijah ! 
With the triumphant heart-burst of blithe old Galilean 
Peter we close this chapter: "Blessed he the God and Father 
of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant 
mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resur- 



116 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

redion of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance in- 
corruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, re- 
served in heaven for you, loho are kept by the power of God 
through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last 
time.'' 



CHAPTER XII. 

ELIJAH LEAVES ZAREPHATII. 

"W 7"E must now awayfrom Zarephath. We must leave 
VV the widow and her son, and follow Elijah. The 
interesting family-group at Zarephath is broken up forever; 
the widow and the boy remain, but God calls Elijah from 
his quiet and peaceful life in the Zidonian city to one of 
stirring and perilous activity in Samaria. We shall hear 
no more of the widow; she has no more place in the Tish- 
bite's life. Except the reference to her in the New Testa- 
ment, no further mention is made of her in the Holy Script- 
ures. Nor is any thing further said of the^son, the boy so 
miraculously raised from the dead. But we must not fail 
to mention the tradition which makes him the same as the 
prophet Jonah. While there is no shadow of authority for 
that Oriental legend, there is something in the life of Jonah 
reminding us of the Tishbitc. If Jonah and the widow's 
son were one and the same person, we might at least fancy 
that we trace the Tishbite's influence upon the boy. The 
weird-like character of the prophet was well calculated to 
make a deep and lasting impression on his youthful heart 
and mind — an impression greatly deepened and intensified 
by the fact that he was restored to life by Elijah. Jonah's 
petulance because Nineveh was not destroyed suggests Eli- 
jah's petulance because he had to flee from Jezreel,and was 
not permitted to cut off" the priests of Jezebel as he had 
slain the priests of Baal at the brook Kishon. But here 
again we must not anticipate. We must on to the stirring 
events to which the Tishbitc hurries us. 

(117) 



118 ELIJAH VINDICATED, 

^^And it Game to pass, after many days, that the luord of 
the Lord came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go, shew 
thyself unto Ahab ; and I will send rain upon the earth.'' 
Jehovah's purpose by the drought has been accomplished; 
three years and a half have passed since it was sent at Eli- 
jah's word. Israel's God again has dealings with Israel's 
idolatrous king, and God's prophet Elijah is again God's 
accredited embassador to Ahab. By the word of Elijah 
the dew and rain had ceased, and by his word must they 
return. 

The Tishbite joyfully obeys the command ordering him 
to Jezreel. With impatience, but w4th im.patience subdued 
by submission to the Divine will, he had remained concealed 
and inactive in the Phenician city by the sea. Gladly he 
hears the sum.mons to Ahab's court and ivory house. The 
war-horse in Job, pawing in the valley, rejoicing in his 
strength, mocking at fear, and smelling the battle afar off, 
is no mean illustration of the bold Tishbite's eagerness for 
the contest with Ahab and Jezebel, and with the idolatrous 
priests of Baal and Ashtoreth. Bidding adieu to the fam- 
ily at Zarephath, Elijah hastens to Samaria. 

Whatever the route by which the prophet went from 
Cherith to Zarej^hath, we may be sure he took the directest 
I'oute to Jezreel, or to Samaria, or wdierever Ahab was. 
If any part of his present route lay in his way when he 
went to Zarephath, how changed, even from what they w^ere 
then, are all things which now meet his view! A drought 
of nearly a year's duration was upon the land when he 
journeyed to the Phenician city; the blighting effects of an 
uninterrupted drought of three years and a half confront 
him on his return. If its effects were surprising then, they 
are appalling now. Desolation reigns supreme. Nor run- 
ning brook, nor verdant leaf, nor green blade of grass, is 
anywhere to be seen. Beneath are baked and seamed hill- 



ELIJAH LEAVES ZARF.PHATH, 119 

sides and valleys; above are brassy heavens and a torrid 
sun. The fields and gardens are a barren waste, as if the 
hottest sirocco-breath had swept them. The trees of the 
forest^and the vines and olives are withered from the roots. 
No caroling birds gleesomely hop from twig to twig, or 
merrily fill the woods and vineyards with song. No sound 
of tinkling bells is heard in the folds; for the flocks and 
herds, in search of water, have been driven to far-off 
streams. If any beasts of burden appear, the sunken and 
glassy eye, the slow and limping gait, the exposed ribs and 
projecting hip-bones, reveal how sore has been the drought. 
Gaunt famine is the regnant power ; pestilence and death 
follow in its train. Hushed are the shouts of the reapers 
in harvest-time; silenced is the milkmaid's song, and si- 
lenced the peasant's harp. From many hamlets and from 
houses along the way voices of Rachels, weeping for their 
children, and refusing to be comforted because they are 
not, are borne mournfully and heavily upon the heated air. 
The reap-hook and threshing-flail, the plow and the ax, 
and all the implements of husbandry and toil, are hung up 
or stored away in empty barns. Pale, wan, half-famished 
sons r.nd daughters of Israel, who, having forsaken the God 
of Abraham, worshiped Baal and kissed his image, crowd 
the highways, begging bread to satisfy their gnawing hun- 
ger, and imploring water to quench their burning thirst. 
Everywhere the prophet beholds a land cursed for the idol- 
atrous worship of Ahab and Jezebel, and for the sins of the 
court and people. 

It is needless to tell how Elijah's heart was pierced with 
anguish by the desolation of Israel, and how his righteous 
anger was kindled against those whose iniquities and idola- 
tries had brought all this distress upon the goodly land of 
his fathers. Tlu)Ugh the prophet was a mere man, and no 
creator of the land which once " flowed with milk and, 



120 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

honey," yet, if the disciple is as his master, and the servant 
as his lord, he must have had something of the feelings 
which Jesus afterward felt when he looked on eai-th amid 
the ruins of his own works. Elijah, as best he can, makes 
his way toward his destination burdened by the sad sights 
which he saw and the plaintive sounds which he heard, but 
comforted and strengthened by the purpose to root out idol- 
atry from the land, and by the expectation of soon bring- 
ing back the dew and rain. 

While the Tishbite is pursuing his lonely journey to Jez- 
reel, its wicked and idolatrous king, leaving his palace in 
Samaria, and taking with him Obadiah, the governor of 
his house, sets out in search of provender for the half-fam- 
ished horses and mules of the royal ecurie. Dividing the 
land between them, "Ahab went one luay by himself, and 
Obadiah went another way by himself.^' For ^'Ahab said 
unto Obadiah, Go into the land, u7ito all fountains of wa- 
tery and unto all brooks: peradventure we may find grass 
to save the horses and mules alive, that we lose not all the 
beasts." And while Obadiah, having parted from Ahab, is 
on his way "to pass throughout" the regions assigned to 
him, he is suddenly and unexpectedly confronted by Elijah 
the Tishbite. Ahab's steward, recognizing the prophet of 
God, and falling on his face before him, exclaims : "Art 
thou that my lord Elijah ^'^ "And Elijah answered him, I 
am : go, tell thy lord. Behold, Elijah is here.'' The Tish- 
bite's answer startles the good Obadiah; the prophet's com- 
mand to inform Ahab of his presence fills him with alarm. 
He could not believe it was the prophet's purpose to show 
himself to Ahab; he thought it too rash an act for even the 
bold Tishbite. For had not Ahab, for over three years, 
been seeking Elijah? was there a nation or kingdom whith- 
er his own spies and his queen's detectives had not gone in 
search of him? And for what purpose was he seeking the 



ELIJAH LEAVES ZAREPHATH, 121 

prophet? for what but, by imprisonment and torture, to 
force him to speak the word that should bring back dew 
and rain to Samaria? for what but, after having forced him 
to speak that word, to slay him for his temerity, and for the 
calamity he had brought upon Israel? The good Obadiah 
knew that such were the fell purposes of Ahab — if not the 
latter purpose, at least the former. And if the latter Avas 
not Ahab's, he had no doubt it was Jezebel's the moment 
she could lay hands on the prophet. Wherefore, knowing 
what would be Ahab's disappointment and Ahab's wrath if 
he should not find Elijah in the place where he told him he 
was to be found, Obadiah answered Elijah, and said: "What 
have I sinned, that thou tvouldest deliver thy servant into the 
hand of Ahab, to slay mef As the Lord thy God liveth, 
there is no nation or kingdom whither my lord hath not sent 
to seek thee; and when they said, He is not there; he took 
an oath of the kingdom and nation, that they found thee not. 
And now thou say est, Go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here. 
And it shall come to pass, as soon as I am gone from thee, 
that the Spirit of the Lord shall carry thee whither I know 
not; and so when I come and tell Ahab, and he cannot find 
thee, he shall slay me; but I thy servant fear the Lord from 
my youth.'' 

Such was the earnest remonstrance of Obadiah against 
the doing of that which the prophet had ordered him to do. 
He feared the Spirit of the Lord would suddenly bear Eli- 
jah away. It was thus, perhaps, the prophet had been de- 
livered from Ahab's power after his first appearance to him : 
at least such may have been the common report and the 
common belief in all the regions of Samaria. 'Nov was it 
an impossible or an improbable thing for that God to do 
who had translated Enoch, and who afterward translated 
Elijah, from earth to heaven. Tlie sons of the prophets, 
who witnessed from Jericho Elijah's aerial flight, thought 



122 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

that the Spirit of the Lord had caught up their master and 
taken him into some mountain or into some valley. It was 
the Spirit of the Lord who afterward caught up Ezekiel 
and bore him to the captives at Tel-abib, by the river of 
Chebar. And it was the Spirit of the Lord who caught up 
the evangelist Philip, and hurried him from Gaza to Azotus. 
And it makes no difference whether the Spirit of the Lord 
seized them, and bore them bodily aloft, or whether he in- 
dued them with supernatural power, and gave them the 
swift feet of roes or the rapid wings of eagles. In either 
view the power was supernatural, and the effects were the 
same. At all events, the fears of Obadiah, in that day of 
miraculous intervention, were not w^ithout foundation. He 
believed that Grod would not allow his prophet to abide 
Ahab's wrath, but would miraculously snatch him from his 
powder. And hence he believed that if he delivered Elijah's 
message to Ahab, it would be at the certain cost of his own 
head. But what had he done, what sin had he sinned, to 
merit such punishment? He expostulates with Elijah by 
reminding him of his kindness to the prophets of God when 
Jezebel was seeking to destroy them : " Was it not told my 
lord^^ said Obadiah, '^what I did when Jezebel slew the 
prophets of the Lord, how I hid a hundred men of the Lord's 
prophets by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and 
water f And noio thou say est, Go, tell thy lord, Behold, Eli- 
jah is here; and he shall slay me." Elijah answers, and, an- 
swering, removes Obadiah's doubts and fears: ^^ And Elijah 
said, As the Lord of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, I will 
surely shew myself unto him to-day^ The oath of the proph- 
et of God is enough; Obadiah is satisfied; he knows that 
Elijah will be true to his word. And "so Obadiah went to 
to meet Ahab, and told him." 



CHAPTER XIII. 

OBADIAH. 

OBADIAH is no mean personage in the drama of Eli- 
jah, though his i)osition is subordinate, and he loses 
immensely by comparison with the prophet. The grand 
and colossal proportions of the Tishbite so engross its inter- 
est we may not do justice to others in the play. And yet 
the widow and her son justly claimed and held our atten- 
tion. The good Obadiali is entitled to equal, if not greater, 
consideration. And if the supreme interest were not so 
centered in Elijah, Obadiah would appear to be — what he 
truly and intrinsically was— one of the best of all subordi- 
nate Old Testament characters. 

The governor of Ahab's house was a man of deepest piety, 
truest courage, and signal humanity. ''But I thy servant 
fear the Lord from my youths This was what he said of 
himself to Elijah. The fear of the I>ord, of which he speaks, 
is doubtless that filial, reverential fear, which is ever the 
basis of all real piety, and the invariable and unfailing char- 
acteristic of every true and devout worshiper of Jehovah. 
It is a powerful incentive to perfect holiness. It is clean, 
enduring forever. It is strong confidence, and a fount- 
ain of life. It is riches and honor — yea, as with Hezekiah, 
it is the saint's peculiar treasure. It brings the comforts of 
the Holy Ghost. It possesses the secret of the Lord; and 
to it is revealed the hidden meaning of his covenant. To 
them that have it there is no want; and round about them 
cncampeth the angel of the Lord. Their names are writ- 
ten in a book of remembrance, and they shall be jewels in 

(123) 



124 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

the cabinet of their King. They are of the number of those 
concerning whom it is -written: ^^And I will make an ever- 
lasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from 
them to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, 
tliat they shall not depart from me. Yea, I will rejoice over 
them to do them good, and I will plant them in this land as- 
suredly with my whole heart, and with my whole sold.'' 

This was the fear of the Lord, which Obadiah had ; it 
was filial and not servile. In all his official and private 
life it was the pole-star by which his whole conduct was 
guided. For what he says of himself, and much more, di- 
vine inspiration ascribes to him. Does he say that he feared 
the Lord from his youth? The inspired historian confirms 
it, and adds, " Obadiah fea.red the Lord greatly" Not so 
high was the eulogy bestowed upon Hananiah, the ruler 
of the palace of Nehemiah. Hananiah *^ feared God above 
many;'' Obadiah ^feared the Lord greatly." And this is 
said of Obadiah at the time he is introduced to us ; it was 
his characteristic then. It is the judgment of the Lord God 
of Israel respecting his servant, and is only affirmed of one 
preeminent for piety. It is as high an encomium as is pro- 
nounced upon the saints. For it imports that he who thus 
fears has sanctified the Lord of hosts himself, and made 
God, and God alone, his fear and dread. It implies per- 
fect consecration, perfect obedience, perfect faith, perfect 
love, and a conscience " quick as the apple of an eye." It 
means a shrinking from the least infraction of the holy, just, 
and good law of God. It indicates that the least omission is 
displeasing and dishonoring to hira who is loved as a Fa- 
ther with all the heart. Every such judgment, pronounced 
by him who searcheth the hearts, is preeminent praise, when, 
wherever, and of whomsoever it is affirmed. But it has 
signal emphasis when it is affirmed of Obadiah. For if 
trials and temptations be any true test of piety and courage; 



OB A DT Air. 125 



if, in an estimate of them, the surroundings are to be taken 
into the account ; if their real worth bear any proportion to the 
difficulties, perils, and seductions to which they are exposed, 
then, indeed, was most exhalted praise bestowed upon his 
servant Obadiah when the Lord Jehovah said that he 
"feared the Lord greatly" 

Obadiah's previous history is as unknown to us as Elijah's 
before his appearing to Ahab. And yet something is said 
of Obadiah which is not said of Elijah. We conjectured 
that the prophet was the son of pious Hebrew parents, and 
that from a child he was brought up in the nurture and ad- 
monition of the Lord. But we know that Obadiah received 
early religious training and discipline, for he "feared the 
Lord from his youths The wisest of men has said, "Train 
lip a child in the way he shoidd go, and when he is old he 
will not depart from it^ Li this inspired staying precept and 
promise are indissolubly wedded; and if the one be faith- 
fully kept, the other will be the invariable sequence. 
Kightly understood, the saying of the wise man is a script- 
ural axiom; it is one of the truest and most precious of Bi- 
ble maxims. Obedience to this precept, and faith in this 
promise of covenant-keeping Jehovah will bring the prom- 
ised reward. We know not whether the pious parents of 
Obadiah lived to see its fulfillment in the future of their 
boy; but we do know that the boy was "father to the man." 
The boy who remembered his Creator in the days of his youth 
had a sure refuge and strength, when "the evil days" came. 
And they did come to Obadiah ; for his manhood was cast 
upon troublous and perilous times. Strong temptations 
and fiery trials tested to the utmost the piety which he 
formed in youth. But it was, according to covenant and 
promise, fully equal, through grace, to its tests. The young 
twig, which loving and pious hands had trained, grew into 
a stalwart oak, that withstood the fiercest tempests. The 



126 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

boy who ''feared the Lord from his youth,'^ ''feared the 
Lord greatly''' in manhood. This fear, which is the be- 
ginning both of knowledge and wisdom, having begun in 
his youth and steadily grown with increase of years, fur- 
nished him with all knowledge and wisdom for the dark 
and terrible days in which his life was spent. 

At the time Obadiah is introduced to us, he was " the 
governor ^^ of Ahab's house. He was the lord high chan- 
cellor, or mayor of the palace. By what steps he rose to 
this high eminence at the idolatrous court of Ahab and Jez- 
ebel, we are not informed. And yet we are sure that he 
who sent Joseph to the court of the Pharaohs, Nehemiah to 
that of Artaxerxes Longimanus at Sushan, and Daniel to 
that of Nebuchadnezzar at Babylon, sent Obadiah to Ahab's 
palace. And as God was with Joseph, and Nehemiah, and 
Daniel, ordering the train of providences, by which they 
were advanced to their respective high positions; so God 
was with his servant Obadiah, directing the providential 
movements which placed him over Ahab's house. He was 
there by God's command; and while there he was sustained 
by his grace. And he retained the Divine approval, or it 
would not have been recorded by the Holy Ghost : "Now 
Obadiah feared the Lord greatly. For it was so, when Jeze- 
bel cut off the prophets of the Lord, that Obadiah took a hun- 
dred prophets and hid them by fifty in a cave, and fed them 
with bread and water .'^ 

We may be surprised to find Obadiah in the service of a 
wicked and idolatrous prince, but not more surprised than 
we are to see Joseph second in command to Pharaoh in 
Egypt, or Nehemiah cup-bearer to Artaxerxes Longimanus 
in Sushan, or Daniel in the college of the Babylonish Neb- 
uchadnezzar, or the first of three presidents set by Darius the 
Mede over the one hundred and twenty princes of his realm. 
Joseph and Nehemiah and Daniel served idolatrous and 



OB A DI ATI. 127 



foreign courts ; the two latter not only served idolatrous and 
foreign kings, but kings who had subjugated and laid waste 
the land of their fathers, and carried themselves and their 
brethren captive to Babylon. Obadiah was at home in his 
own free Samaria ; he was the subject of his lawful Israel- 
itish king. If it was permitted others to serve idolatrous 
foreign princes, it was allowed Obadiah to serve an idola- 
trous native prince. Nor was there any thing in the law 
of his God forbidding the service. Indeed, as already said, 
he was over Ahab's house by God's command. And as it 
was with the others, so it was with Obadiah. The real 
questions with them all were. How they served? how did 
they use their power? did they preserve their integrity? 
were they true to their royal masters? were they just and 
merciful to the people? But, above all, were they true to 
God? were they true to his worship? did they keep his 
commandments ? did they rule in his fear ? was there no 
compromise with the idolatrous courts which they served? 
was there no bowing the knees to the Baalism of the princes? 
did they refuse to say a confederacy to all the wicked and 
idolatrous who said a confederacy to them? were they in- 
corruptible, doing justly, loving mercy, and walking hum- 
bly with their God ? did they have the Divine approval and 
the testimony of a good conscience? did they, in fine, ren- 
der unto Ccesar the things which are Ccesar's, and unto God 
the things that are God's? We can confidently answer all 
these questions afiirmatively if asked of Joseph in Egypt, or 
of Nehemiah and Daniel in Chaldea; with equal confidence 
we are warranted, by the sacred record, to return the same 
answer when asked of Obadiah in Samaria. His extremely 
delicate and dificult duties were discharged with fidelity to 
his prince, and with loyalty to his God. He preserved his 
intcL^'ity. His services were so invaluable to his king that 
he retained him in his high and responsible office notwith- 



128 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

standing he refused to bow the knee to Baal. At his own 
imminent peril he braved the wrath of the cruel and venge- 
ful queen ; and when she attempted to cut off all the proph- 
ets of God, Obadiah, unmoved by the fear of detection, and, 
if detected, by the certain loss of his own head, daringly 
hid one hundred of the Lord's prophets, and fed them at 
his own expense. Neither from the Lord God of Israel nor 
from his prophet Elijah does Obadiah receive a single word 
of condemnation, either for remaining in Ahab's palace or 
for his conduct while over it. 

Consider the position which he held in Ahab's palace, and 
then ask whether incorruptible integrity, sleepless vigilance, 
unflinching courage, and unswerving faith were not neces- 
sary to meet its demands? For Obadiah was no dissembler. 
If he had been, he would have been unfaithful to God; if 
he had been, the God of Israel would never have put it 
upon record that he ^^ feared the Lord greatly." Ahab well 
knew Obadiah's loyalty to Israel's God ; and, it is likely, 
he even hated him for it. But the king knew the under- 
standing, the wisdom, and the integrity of the governor of 
his house. He knew how important he was to his kingdom. 
If he had been wanting in service, he could not have held 
his place in the king's palace. Ahab would have delivered 
him over to Jezebel to do with him as she had done to 
many of the Lord's prophets. And that this was not done 
is evidence that Obadiah's refusal to bow the knee to Baal 
was condoned by the king on account of the eminent service 
which the governor of the palace rendered to the State. 
But, after all, the worship of Israel's God was not so pro- 
scribed by Ahab that it was an unpardonable offense. For, 
as we saw while considering the Baalism of this idolatrous 
king, he did not so much proscribe the worship of Jehovah 
as he insisted upon the right of Baal to divine homage. 
Not that Jehovah was not God, but that Baal was God also. 



OBADIAH. 129 



The Zidonian ([iieeu, if she could have had undisputed sway, 
Avould have slain every worshiper of Jehovah, and have 
made the worship of Baal and Ashtoreth the only religion 
both of the court and people. But Ahab, much as he was 
under the influence of the daughter of Ethbaal, was not the 
weakling, which some have inconsiderately represented. 
For he was not without the qualities of a great general ; 
he was not without capacities, which, had he been a pious 
prince, would have fitted him to be a good ruler. Nor 
was he always wanting in will-power even w hen opposed by 
his unscrupulous and impetuous queen. The retention of 
Obadiah as governor of his house showed that he could 
sometimes be not only wise in policy but firm in purpose. 
Not only the retention of Obadiah, but his subsequent obe- 
dience to Elijah when commanded to summons Israel and 
the priests of Baal and Ashtoreth to assemble on Mount 
Carmel, his acquiescence in the sentence of the prophet 
when Elijah slew the priests of Baal at the brook Kishon, 
and his humiliation and contrition after the Tishbite's de- 
nunciation for the part he had in the affair of Naboth's 
vineyard, were all, as he knew, in direct opposition to Jeze- 
bel's overbearing will and fiery temper. No doubt he did 
not adopt all of Jezebel's Phenician religious ideas. If he 
did, he was too wise and politic to carry out all the extreme 
measures the religious freuzy of his queen suggested. He 
may have been — but we think not — as idolatrous and fanat- 
ical as Jezebel ; if he was, he had too much discretion to 
manifest it as she did. Hence he retained in his service a 
devout worshiper of the God of Israel, even though he re- 
fused to bow the knee to Jezebel's gods. Call this state- 
craft — give to it whatever name you please — and it still 
proves what we are claiming for the wicked and idolatrous 
Ahab. 

If we are correct in our estimate of Obadiah, he was aj) 
9 



130 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

able statesman, a true patriot, and a courageous man, as 
well as a man of eminent piety. In the very delicate and 
difficult position to which we have alluded, growing out of 
the religious policy of his king — which was a compromise 
between Jehovah and Baal — he served his God with such 
uncompromising fidelity that no charge of unfaithfulness is 
alleged against him by the inspired historian. And with- 
out any comprehension of Baalism, he served his country 
in her sorest need, and received no accusation from the 
prince whose servant he was, or from the God to whom he 
gave supreme allegiance. To have deserved such freedom 
from condemnation, many must have been his unrecorded 
deeds of loyalty to both, and of faithfulness to the idol- 
atrous subjects of Ahab and the persecuted servants of 
Jehovah. The man who hid one hundred prophets in a 
cave, and fed them at his own charges, must have performed 
many other benevolent and humane acts. The man who, 
to do this, exposed himself to the displeasure of his king 
and to the wrath of his queen — and of such a queen as 
Jezebel — must have been of undaunted courage. Nothing 
but the stanchest courage, the truest patriotism, and the 
stoutest faith could have induced one of his religious con- 
victions to accept position at such a wicked and idolatrous 
court; yea, nothing but such an express command of God 
as Joseph had in Egypt, and Nehemiah and Daniel in Chal- 
dea, could have sent him there; and, while there, nothing 
but like faith and courage to theirs could have kept him 
and sustained him in Ahab's service. For no doubt he 
often vexed his righteous soul with the filthy conversation 
and unlawful deeds of the wicked. If the one hundred 
and twentieth Psalm had been written, he might have joined 
in the psalmist's plaint: '^Woe is me that I sojourn in Me- 
seeh, that I dwell in the tents of Kedarf" And yet this 
" lily among thorns " — an epithet from Canticles, which 



OBADIAH, 131 



both Krummacher and Taylor apply to Obadiah — was em- 
boldened and cheered by the thought that God could and 
would preserve him, though his soul dwelt among lions. 
" He had not seen his way, indeed," says Dr. Taylor, " to 
follow the example of those priests and Levites and serv- 
ants of Jehovah who, in the days of Jeroboam, left their 
lands behind them and went into the country of Judah in 
order that they might enjoy the privilege of worshiping the 
God of Israel according to the Mosaic ritual." No, indeed ; 
he did not see his way to leave his city possessions or his sub- 
urban villas, if any he had in Israel, and go over to build up 
the kingdom of Judah and make it strong; for duty, and 
patriotism, and humanity, and the command of his God, called 
him to stay where he could succor the persecuted prophets 
of the Most High. At such a time and in such a crisis 
the place for Obadiah was Ahab's palace. Instead of show- 
ing a want of courage or of loyalty to God to remain there, 
he showed the truest courage and the truest loyalty to abide 
at that post of duty and peril, that he might do all the 
good he could to his afflicted country and people. He 
richly deserves the greatest credit for continuing in Ahab's 
house and resisting its temptations. It shows the power of 
God's grace to sustain in every lawful calling, however 
much that calling, above others, may be exposed to special 
temptations and be beset with peculiar hazards. From 
Obadiah's example there is great encouragement to all en- 
gaged in any business lawful but hazardous to piety ; there 
is none whatever to any employed in what is unlawful, and 
therefore forbidden. " Wherefore come out from among them, 
and be ye separate, and touch not the unclean thiiig," is God's 
command to all following forbidden callings. No man can 
engage in the unlawful and preserve integrity, a good con- 
science, and the approval of God ; for God allows no com- 
promise with sin. It was not sin to take office under Ahab; 



132 ELIJAH VINDTCATED. 

if it had been, Obadiah could not have preserved his pi- 
ety and loyalty to God. If in his high office he compro- 
mised religious principle, he could not have retained the 
Divine approval ; if his place in Ahab's house had been a 
forbidden one, he would have forfeited, as soon as he en- 
tered upon the service, all claim to the fear of the Lord. 
Had Obadiah, at Ahab's command, bowed the knee to Baal, 
God would have cast him off. Had Daniel, fearing the 
decree of the Persian monarch, left off his prayers to the 
God of Israel; had Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego 
bowed down before and worshiped the image in the plain 
of Dura, the sacred history would have wanted the mar- 
velous deliverances in the den of lions and in the fiery 
furnace. It is impossible to tell — the last day alone will 
reveal it — how much good one truly pious and of uncom- 
promising religious principle may accomplish at a wicked 
court. We know the influence Joseph exerted upon Pha- 
raoh, Nehemidh upon Artaxerxes, Esther upon Ahasue- 
rus, and Daniel upon Darius. Joseph saved his father 
and his brethren alive in a seven years' famine; Nehe- 
miah procured authority and help to rebuild the walls 
and temple of Jerusalem; Esther delivered her people 
from the indiscriminate massacre which the wicked Haraan 
designed; Daniel obtained from a heathen prince the de- 
cree that the God of Israel " is the living God, and stead- 
fast forever, and his kingdom that which shall not be de- 
stroyed, and his dominion shall be even unto the end." 
We are not informed how far Obadiah kept back the wick- 
ed and idolatrous Ahab from the extreme measures of the 
crafty Jezebel. But we know enough to infer that his pres- 
ence and influence must have been a powerful restraint 
upon the king. God grant that every Ahab may have his 
Obadiah, every Pharaoh his Joseph, every Artaxerxes his- 
Nehemiah, every Ahasuerus his Esther, every Darius his 



OBADIAH, 133 



Daniel, every Louis XIV. his Fenelon, and every Henry 
VIII. his Sir Thomas More! O for men in high places 
whose stipulation, before they take office, shall be that of 
King Henry's chancellor; " First to look to God, and after 
God to the king!" 

There is no lawful avocation, however encompassed by 
temptations and beset by dangers to personal piety, in which 
one may not through grace preserve religious integrity, and 
keep " a conscience void of offense toward God, and toward 
man." By keeping three simple rules we may come out of 
the hottest fiery furnace with no smell of fire upon our gar- 
ments : First, never do what we know God forbids. Second, 
leave undone whatever is doubtful, avoiding the very ap- 
pearance of evil ; for it is much better, if we make a mis- 
take, to find that we have left undone some good thing than 
to find that we have done a bad thing. Third, whatever we 
know God commands, do — even if we lose life in the do- 
ing of it. For he that knowingly commits sin is of the 
devil ; and he that doubts is damned. And whosover will 
save his life shall lose it ; and whosoever will lose his life for 
Christ's sake shall find it. 

If these things are so, if grace is all-sufficient, and we 
can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth us, 
let no one plead the temptations to which his special call- 
ing is exposed as an excuse for sin, or for any compromise of 
Christian character. A place in the army, the navy, the mer- 
chant marine, the railroads, the State legislatures, the Nation- 
al Congress, or whatever is not proscribed by divine law, may 
be held without the compromise of religious principle or 
the loss of spiritual power. Christian men, when called in 
God's providence to either of the above departments of 
human labor, have wide fields for usefulness. And they 
"may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without 
rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation," 



134 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

shining " as lights in the world," and " holding forth the 
word of life." They may be as leaven, as salt, as a light 
upon a candlestick, and as a city upon a hill. It is theirs 
to elevate those around them, and by their pious example 
win the ungodly to the cross of Christ. The larger the 
number of thoroughly Christian men, "established in the 
faith," and " rooted and grounded in love " — men of incor- 
ruptible religious integrity and heroic courage — who enter 
into these and similar pursuits, the better for the Church 
and country; for many lawful callings are powerful instru- 
ments for evil in the hands of wicked and irreligious men. 
They ought to be taken and held for Christ. And if con- 
secrated men could control them, all special evils not nec- 
essarily appertaining but made incident to them would soon 
be removed, and they would become potential factors in 
the salvation of men and the spread of holiness. 

But let no one be careless in the choice of a pursuit. 
Let him see to it that it is lawful, and not unlawful; and we 
use these terms not with respect to human but divine law, 
for a calling may be authorized and protected by the one 
and utterly at variance with the other. Such are all pur- 
suits as have not in view the honor of God and the good of 
man. Whatever is dishonoring to God and hurtful to man 
is not to be engaged in ; no, not for a moment. And all 
human laws which authorize and protect them are wicked 
and abominable, and their corrupt makers God will judge 
and punish. Such are laws which authorize the profaning 
of God's holy Sabbath and license the saloon and the bar- 
room ; such are laws which wink at, if they do not author- 
ize, the pools of gamblers and the brothels of abandoned 
women ; such are laws which, while they condemn, are so 
hampered as to make the conviction of the offender almost, 
if not quite, impossible; and such are laws ostensibly for 
the suppression of vice, but so laden with disabling amend- 



ODADIAH. 135 



ments as to be inoperative and void. Nor is it enough tha,t 
the calling be good and approved of God ; the rules which 
govern it must be good also, and have the Divine sanction. 
The pursuit may be good, but the procedure may be bad. 
Bad men may control and run it. Railroads, steam-ships, 
the telegraph, the telephone, and the manufactory are use- 
ful and lawful; but they may be under the control of those 
who neither fear God nor regard man. Bad directors and 
bad officials may make bad laws such as no saint of God 
can keej) and preserve clean hands, a pure heart, and a 
good conscience. They may require work to be done in 
such a manner and at such times as no good man can do 
and not offend the supreme Lawgiver and Judge of all. 
The man who fears God Avill obey God rather than man ; 
and he will never suffer, by any act of his own, the human 
law to contravene the divine ; he will never allow a com- 
promise between God and Mammon, between duty to God 
and any Avorldly interest. Daniel maintained his integrity 
at a Babylonish court ; Obadiah ^^ feared the Lord greatly " 
in the palace of Ahab. 

But we must say something about Obadiah's expostula- 
tion at the time Elijah ordered him to tell Ahab of his 
presence. The good man has been belabored most unmer- 
cifully for want of courage. The order of Elijah, we are 
told, " greatly disconcerted the timid Obadiah." Mark the 
word which we have italicized. Was the man timid who 
remained true to his God when the love of nearly all Israel 
waxed cold, and iniquity abounded in the palace and in all 
the laud? was he timid who, at the peril of his life, hid the 
prophets and kept feeding them? was he timid who ^'feared 
the Lord greatly?" or is the fear of the Lord akin to cow- 
ardice, and the greater the one the greater the other? 

Obadiah must be judged by the lights which he had. It 
was with him not a question of courage, but one of com- 



136 ELIJAH VINDICATED, 

mon sense. Who exposes himself to certain death without 
a, reason for it, unless he knows it is God's will and by God's 
command? True courage is not blind; it is not rash. It 
is said Obadiah had faith, but»he had not "added to it the 
higher courage." Is faith without eyes? does it not at 
least come by hearing? and what did Obadiah hear to 
strengthen his faith? When Elijah issued his command to 
him, was it accompanied by any promise? All that Oba- 
diah wanted was that which always attends upon God's 
commands. Is there a command of God without its prom- 
ise? When God told Abraham to offer up Isaac, the pa- 
triarch was sustained by the promise that in Isaac should 
his name be called; persuaded if he slew his son that God 
would give him back from the dead. When God told Mo^ 
ses to lead out the children of Israel from Goshen, Mosea 
was not satisfied till the Lord promised that his presence 
should go with him. When God ordered Joshua to com- 
pass Jericho, he accompanied the order with the promise 
that he would surely deliver it into his hands. When Elii 
jah himself was sent to Cherith, he was told that the ravena 
were commanded to feed him; and when he was sent to 
Zarephath, he w^as informed that a widow woman there was 
commanded to sustain him. And when Christ sent his 
servants before kings and rulers, he promised to stand by 
them. And so when Elijah, in answer to the expostulation 
of Obadiah, swore by the ever-living Jehovah that he 
would show himself on that day to Ahab, Obadiah imme- 
diately obeyed; he went and told Ahab. And this he 
would have done at the first if, when Elijah said to him, 
" Go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here," he had added, as 
he afterward did, ''As the Lord of hosts liveth, before whom 
I stand, I will surely sheiu myself wito him to-day." 

But Obadiah's hazard was by no means over when the 
prophet swore that he would surely show himself to the 



ODADIAH. 137 



king. Obadiali l^elievcd the oath of Elijah; but how could 
he, without imniineiit peril to himself, bear such a message 
to Ahab? Had not the king taken an oath of every na- 
tion and kingdom whither he had sent in search of the 
prophet that they had not found him? Would he take 
their word before they confirmed their denial by the sanc' 
tion of an oath ? AVhat risk must Obadiah run when he 
informs the imperious king that he had seen the Tishbite, 
but had not arrested him? Did it not require the stoutest 
courage and the strongest faith to deliver such a message, 
and to such a king ? For was there a subject of Ahab in 
all Samaria who had not been ordered to seize the prophet? 
Disobedience to this command, it was to be expected, might 
be overlooked in any other sooner than in the governor 
of the palace. For not only would obedience be exacted 
of him because he was high in authority, and therefore 
ought to be an example to others, but because his religion, 
hated by the idolatrous court and queen, was calculated to 
make his loyalty an object of suspicion. And all this Oba- 
diah knew. But he braved it all; he boldly took the risk; 
and " so Obadiah luent to meet Ahab, and told him.'^ 

When Obadiah expostulated with Elijah for sending him 
to Ahab, he dreaded not so much the death which seemed 
to him certain as the implied imputation upon his charac- 
ter as a worshiper of the true God. It was natural for him 
to suppose that Elijah was knowingly sending him to death 
because he adjudged him unfaithful to the God of Israel. 
But had he been unfaithful? had he not maintained his in- 
tegrity even at the wicked and idolatrous court? had he 
bowed the knee to Baal? had he not shown his zeal for the 
Lord of hosts? had he not rescued one hundred of his 
prophets from Jezebel's malice? and were these things un- 
known to Elijah ? They surely must be, or he would not 
expose to death a true and faithful servant of God. Where- 



138 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

fore, Obadiah asks : " Was it not told my lord what I did 
when Jezehel slew the prophets of the Lord, how I hid a 
hundred men of the Lord's prophets by fifty in a cave, and 
fed them ivith bread and water?" Could the Tishbite know 
this and say, "Go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is heref^^ 
" Would you send me to certain death," the question im- 
plies, " if all this were known to you ? do you speak by the 
authority of the God whom I fear from my youth? is he 
angry with his servant? have I committed some unpardon- 
able sin? This cannot be; Israel's God knows my inno- 
cence. He knows I speak the truth ; he knows the fidelity 
of his servant, if his prophet knows it not. But God 
knows it all, and he surely will not let me die with such a 
dark cloud upon my name." Conscious of perfect loyalty 
to Elijah's God, Obadiah dreaded more than death the im- 
putation which Elijah's command implied. And hence his 
remonstrance against it. It was the remonstrance of a 
true man, jealous of his good name, and not the cowardly 
appeal of one who feared to die. His earnest and emphatic 
expostulation was the true and righteous vindication of his 
character. Not more jealous of his good name was the pa- 
triarch Job when he indignantly repelled the accusations 
of his friends. Relieved by the prophet's reply, Obadiah 
did not hesitate a moment; he "went to meet Ahab, and told 
him.'* 



CHAPTER XIV. 

CHARGE AND COUNTER-CHARGE. 

OBADIAH has left Elijah, and gone in search of Ahab. 
As they had not long been separated, and the servant 
knew where to look for his master, the latter is soon found. 
The governor of the royal palace informs the king that the 
long-sought Elijah is found, and is waiting to see him. One 
may be curious to know how he received the announcement. 
Three years and a half had passed since the prophet had 
appeared to him and spoke the word which brought the 
drought. Whatever he thought of the prediction at the 
time it was spoken, the king has long been satisfied that 
the dew and rain were withheld by that word, and that it 
alone could restore them. With what feelings he went to 
meet Elijah we know not; nor do we know what he pur- 
posed to do when he should meet him. But we have every 
reason to believe that the proud king was unchanged by 
the calamity which his wicked and idolatrous practices had 
brought upon his realm. It is more than likely he was 
rather hardened than softened by the merited judgments of 
God. And it is more than likely it was in his heart to deal 
summarily with Elijah, who had been bold to denounce his 
sins, and punish him for them. But whatever his purpose, 
he goes to meet the Tishbite, and the two are again brought 
face to face. It was a momentous interview, resulting in a 
contest whose issues far outlived their day — issues that still 
survive, and will be felt on earth till time shall be no more. 
If it was Ahab's purpose to overawe Elijah, and force 
him to put an end to the protracted drought, he was 

(139) 



140 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

greatly disappointed by the result. We know not all 
that passed between them, for the only record of the in- 
terview is exceedingly brief. We are left to conjecture 
with what mien the king approached the bold prophet. 
If we judge his manner by the simple record before us, 
it was tame and subdued, compared with what we might 
have supposed. The prophet met him, we are sure in 
perfect keeping with his character as the accredited em- 
bassador of the Lord God of Israel. His sheep-skin man- 
tle and leathern girdle were in strange contrast with the 
splendid insignia and imposing regalia with which great 
Oriental potetitates are wont to deck their representatives 
at courts. His were eyes that could hurl defiance at the 
idolatrous enemies of Jehovah, or look with tenderest 
sympathy on the lowly and afflicted. The serene majesty, 
the calm dignity, and the weird-like appearance of the 
Tishbite, confused the idolatrous Ahab. The king comes 
to the embassador of Jehovah-God ; the embassador moves 
not a step to meet the king. " Go, tell thy lord, Behold, Eli- 
jah is here," was the laconic message the prophet of God 
sent to the King of Israel. There at the place where Oba- 
diah left him Elijah awaits Ahab, and there Ahab finds 
him. The king, receiving no obeisance from the prophet, 
opens the interview. ^'And it came to pass, when Ahab saiv 
Elijah, that Ahab said unto him. Art thou he that troubleth 
Israeli How different is this address from what we might 
have expected! Why does not the king apprehend the 
prophet as a refractory and disobedient subject, and a fugi- 
tive from justice? why does he not arrest him for disloyalty 
to his king, and for treason against the State? why does he 
not charge upon him the drought, the famine, the pestilence, 
the deaths, and all the calamities with which the drought 
inflicted Samaria? It may be he does include all these in 
his charge. But how softly is it put! — "Art thou he that 



CHARGE AND COUNTEB-CHARGE, 141 

trouhleth Israel?" The word we have italicized contains its 
gravamen. It might embrace things far more trivial and 
venial than drought and famine, and j)estilence and death, 
and still be used with propriety. But even that is toned 
down by the form in which it is stated. For the charge is 
softened by the interrogative. Ahab knew the man before 
him. He had not the slightest doubt about his identity. 
He had seen that shaggy hair, and sheep-skin mantle, and 
leathern girdle. The glance of that fiery eye, that majestic 
form, that weird look, having once been seen could never 
be forgotten. Besides, was he not expecting to meet Elijah, 
and at this very place? Had he not received the prophet's 
message? and had not Obadiah informed him that Elijah 
was there to meet him? The king knew it all; and he 
knew what Elijah had done. He knew the man before him 
was the same bold prophet of God who had said to him, 
"As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there 
shall not be deiu nor rain these years, but according to my 
ivordy Wherefore how weak and tame is the charge, "Art 
thou he that troubleth Israel f^^ The accusation itself, and 
the manner in which it is put, shows how subdued and awed 
was the wicked and idolatrous king in the presence of God's 
embassador and prophet. It was the awe of an inferior in 
the presence of a superior, and of weakness in the presence 
of strength; it was the dread of guilt before innocence, 
and of sin before holiness. For " conscience makes cow- 
ards of us all," and "the thief doth fear each bush an offi- 
cer." "The wicked flee when no man pursueth," and "the 
sound of a shaken leaf shall chase them." 

In striking contrast with Ahab's false and feeble charge 
against Elijah is the true and bold indictment of the 
prophet against the king. "And he answered, I have not 
troubled Israel; but thou and thy father s house, in that ye 
have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and thou hast 



142 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

followed Baalim.'^ God's prophet does not " daub with un- 
tempered mortar ; " nor does he cry, ^^ Peace, peace, when 
there is no peace." A sinful man, a presumptuous trans- 
gressor of God's law, a blatant apostate, a wicked ruler, an 
idolatrous king, and 'the real troubler of Israel, is before 
him. He does not announce to Ahab the glad tidings that 
the word of the Lord came to him, saying : " Go, shew thyself 
unto Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth." This an- 
nouncement is withheld, because Ahab is not ready to re- 
ceive it. For has he not charged upon Elijah the troubles 
of Israel ? Feeble as it is, it is still a charge, though a 
false one. For the real troubler of Israel is Israel's idola- 
trous king ; his wickedness and idolatries are the cause of 
its calamities. It was Israel's God — not his prophet Eli- 
jah — who sent them. And they were sent upon Ahab as a 
punishment for the idol-worship he had set up in Samaria; 
and they Avere sent to humble his pride and lead him to re- 
pentance. But the judgments of God had failed of the 
effect which mercy graciously designed should be their chief 
and ultimate aim — the repentance, conversion, and salva- 
tion of the offender. That they did not have this effect 
upon Ahab is evident from the fact that he charges the 
troubles of Israel upon Elijah, and not upon himself. In- 
stead of confessing his guilt, humbling himself, and imploring 
the Divine forgiveness, he hardens his heart and stiffens his 
neck; instead of forsaking his sins, he covers them up, 
and blames another for the calamities which they caused. 
It was for these reasons the prophet, at this interview, did 
not tell him his purpose to bring rain upon the earth. The 
haughty king must be humbled, and the just claims of Is- 
rael's God to supreme and undivided worship must be vin- 
dicated before reviving dews and refreshing rains revisit 
Samaria. 

But let us follow up the prophet's indictment — "J have 



CHARGE AND COUNTEE-CHABGE. 143 

not troubled Israel, but thou and thy father's house.'' When 
the drunken Ehih, fourth king of Israel, was cut off by Zimri, 
"the captain of half his chariots," and Zimri usurped the 
throne, the army encamped against Gibbethon made Omri, 
" the captain of the host," king over Israel. This Omri, 
•who was the father of Ahab, "tvrought evil in the eyes of 
the Lord, and did ivorse than all that were before him. For 
he walked in all the ivay of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and 
in his sin whereivith he made Israel to sin, to 'provoke the 
Lord God of Israel to anger idth their vanities'' Omri and 
Ahab — father and son — were the real troublers of Israel, 
and not Elijah, in that they had "forsaken the command- 
ments of the Lord." But, bad as was the father, the son 
was worse; for "Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight 
of the Lord above all that were before him." 

" Ye have forsaken the commandments of the Lord " is the 
first count in the indictment. It was a charge against both 
father and son ; and, though Omri was guiltier than all that 
went before him, Ahab was guiltier than he. "Thou hast 
followed Baalim " is the second count. Ye have forsaken 
the commandments of the Lord; ihouhast followed Baalim. 
Both were guilty of the first count; the son alone was guilty 
of the second. The son did that which the father did 
not do. Both walked in the sins of Jeroboam, the son of 
Nebat; but in them the son was even a greater sinner than 
the father. For " as if it had been a light thing for him to 
walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat," Ahab " took 
to wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zidonians, 
and went and served Baal, and worshiped him. And he 
reared up an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he 
had built in Samaria. And Ahab made a grove; and Ahab 
did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all 
the kings of Israel that were before him." And " there was 
none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work wicked' 



144 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

ness in the sight of the Lord, whom Jezebel his wife stirred 

up:' 

"And thou hast followed Baalim " recalls the difference 
between the sin of Jeroboam and the sin of Ahab. The 
reader is reminded that Jeroboam admitted none but Jeho- 
vah lo share in divine worship. The calves — as was said 
in a previous chapter — which he set up in Bethel and 
Dan, were mere representative images of Israel's only living 
and true God. His sin, therefore, was breaking the second 
commandment, which forbade the making and worship of 
any likeness or image of Jehovah. But Ahab introduced 
other gods, and gave to them divine homage. He placed 
the false gods of Phenicia above the God of Israel, and 
broke the first of the commandments. Jeroboam worshiped 
idols; but his idols were likenesses of Jehovah-God; but 
Ahab followed Baalim. Baalim, you will . remember, is 
the plural of Baal, and comprehends gods many. The 
Baalim of Ahab, therefore, embraced all the gods of all 
the nations, whether Hebrew or heathen, but especially the 
Baal and Ashtoreth of the Zidonians. To them he erected 
temples, built altars, planted groves, and offered sacrifices; 
and of them he made likenesses or images, which he wor- 
shiped and kissed. These things the reader should always 
keep in mind, because they enter almost exclusively into 
the great contention between God and Elijah on the one 
side and Ahab and Israel on the other. The contest soon 
to take place on Carmel, to which the prophet is about to 
challenge the priests of Baal and Ashtoreth, will be a con- 
test between the Baalim of Ahab and the one supreme and 
personal God of the Hebrews. If the God of Abraham, 
Isaac, and Jacob be the one only living and true God, then 
the sin of Ahab is exceedingly great, the judgments of God 
upon him are true and righteous altogether, and the counts 
in the prophet's indictment are triumphantly sustained. 



CHARGE AND COUNTER-CIIAEGE, 145 

We are hurried to the contest on Mount Carmel, but must 
delay to draw a lesson from the boldness and faithfulness 
of the prophet of God before the King of Israel. Like 
boldness and faithfulness are needed by the ministers of 
God in every age of the Church. O for the courage and 
fidelity of Moses before Pharaoh, of Elijah before Ahab 
and Ahaziah, of Samuel before Saul, of Nathan before Da- 
vid, of the prophet Jehu before Baasha, of Eliezer before 
Jehoshaphat, of Isaiah before Hezekiah, of John before 
Herod, and of St. Paul before Felix and Agrippa! O for 
the baptism of the Holy Ghost, induing the ministers of 
Jesus with power from on high, and inspiring them to speak 
the word of God with boldness! O that all the ministers 
and all the disciples of the Lord Jesus were like their Lord 
and Master, who, with tenderest compassion, wept over re- 
bellious Jerusalem, but with merited rebukes denounced 
the scribes, Pharisees, and rulers of the people, and the un- 
believing cities, where his mighty works were done! Great 
Head of the Church, purchased with thy own most precious 
blood, raise up, commission, qualify, and send forth ministers 
who shall have neither a man-fearing nor a man-pleasing 
spirit; who shall "know no man after the flesh;" and who 
shall " preach the word ; be instant in season, out of season; 
convince, rebuke, exhort, with all long-suffering and doc- 
trine!" Lord Jesus, multiply, O multiply faithful and 
fearless ministers of the cross, who shall be blameless in 
life, eloquent of speech, and sound in doctrine! For the 
contest with Baalism in high places, in Church and State, 
in the pulpit, in the learned universities, in the laborato- 
ries of science, in the forum, on the bench, in the halls of 
legislation, and even on the farm and in the counting- 
room and workshop, is still going on as in Israel in the 
days of Elijah. 

Let not the embassadors of Christ be silenced by the false 
10 



146 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

charges which the Ahabs of this day may bring against 
them. As it was in the days of Elijah, so it is now ; and 
so it will ever be until Satan is bound, the kingdom of God is 
fully come, and his will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 
Not only were false charges brought against Elijah, but 
graver charges were impiously and daringly brought against 
our blessed Lord, who came not to destroy men's lives, but 
to save them ; and against his apostles who proclaimed the 
glad tidings, " On earth peace, good-will toward men." It 
was not in Thessalonica alone the apostles encountered the 
spirit of those who cried, "These that have turned the ivorld 
upside down are come hither also." The reformers had to 
contend with it in every age of the Church. In the olden 
times Elijah was not the only fugitive who was driven by 
it to wander about in sheep-skins and goat-skins, in deserts 
and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. 
^'Others had trial of cruel mocJcings and scour gings, yea, 
moreover, of bonds and imprisonment; they were stoned, they 
were sawn asunder, were tempted, and were slain with the 
sword." In the early days of the Christian Church this 
fell spirit broke out afresh, and raged with impious fury. 
It brought the head of John the Baptist to the block ; it 
slew the elder James with the sword ; it murdered Stephen 
by stoning; and it nailed Peter to the cross. And it is 
claimed that all the apostles of the Lord except the beloved 
disciple were martyrs to its rage, and with their own hearts' 
blood sealed their witness to the truth of Jesus and the res- 
urrection. At a later day the tyrant Nero — having set fire 
to Rome, reducing to ashes three of its fourteen wards, and 
nearly destroying seven others — to escape the odium of the 
deed, threw the blame on the Christians, put many to tort- 
ure and death, and, " to dispel the darkness of the night 
when the day was gone," illuminated the city with the burn- 
ing pitch with which he covered their bodies. Under Tra- 



CHARGE AND COUNTER-CHARGE. 147 

jan, Simeon, the venerable Bishop of Jerusalem, was cru- 
cified, and Ignatius, the renowned Bishop of Antioch, was 
thrown to wild beasts. The amiable and venerated Poly- 
carp, Bishop of Smyrna, and Justin, the celebrated Chris- 
tian philosopher, were martyred in the reign of Marcus 
Antoninus. Irenseus, Bishop of Lyons under Severus, and 
Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage under Valerian and Galli- 
enus, shared the same fate. The Roman public games were 
enlivened by the slaughter of Christians to appease the 
clamors of the populace that thirsted for their blood. The 
rescripts and edicts of Severus, of Decius, of Diocletian, 
and of other Roman emperors, persecuted the followers of 
Christ, and doomed many to death. Saracen and Turk, 
still later, laid waste the Church of God with fire and 
sword. And when the Church of Rome became corrupt, 
it butchered true believers in Jesus with all the ingenuity 
of torture and with all the refined cruelties of the Inquisi- 
tion. The Waldenses, the Albigenses, the Palatines, and 
Netherlanders passed through the hottest fires of persecu- 
tion. St. Bartholomew and the Revocation of the Edict 
of Nantes slew multitudes of believers in France, or drove 
them into penniless exile. The fires of Smithfield drank 
up the life-blood of English Reformers; the relentless troop- 
ers of Claverhouse stained the Scottish heather with the 
blood and brains of the Covenanters ; and when at last the 
sword was sheathed, and the fires of Smithfield were extin- 
guished, the successors of Ahab did not lay aside their false 
accusations or the spirit of persecution. The doors of Bed- 
ford jail were closed upon John Bunyan; Richard Baxter 
was sentenced to a London prison ; brutal blows, rotten eggs, 
and the horse-pond, with no sparing hand, were meted out 
to the followers of John Wesley. Nor at this day have 
they ceased to persecute the faithful and fearless ministers 
of the Lord Jesus. 



148 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

Thanks to the victories of the religion of the meek and 
despised Nazarene, the forms of religious persecution have 
been changed. Death by wild beasts, the combats of the 
arena, the sword, and the fagot; torture by the Inquisition, 
the pillory, the thumb-screw, and the boot; and persecu- 
tion by the pelting of rotten eggs and ducking in the horse- 
pond, have had their day and passed away. The forms 
have been changed, but not the spirit which prompts relig- 
ious persecutions ; jests and gibes, laughter and sneers, mock- 
ery and derision, raillery and satire, the enemies of the 
Christian religion have substituted for the brutal violence 
of other times. The minister of Jesus who boldly de- 
nounces sin, and wages an uncompromising war against the 
Baalism of the day, is still assailed with the opposition of 
Ahab and the rage of Jezebel. The fate of the prophets 
of God, whom the fierce Baalitish queen cut off in the days 
of Elijah, would now be the fate of faithful ministers of 
the cross wherever the gospel of Christ has not won a truce 
or conquered a peace. For the carnal mind is still enmity 
against God; and there are still fools who say in their 
hearts, ^^ There is no God." There are those who make 
light of the invitations of the gospel, or, refusing to have 
the man Christ Jesus to reign over them, join with the rab- 
ble, and cry, "Away with him, away with him, crucify him ! '^ 

Wherefore, every true embassador of Christ may still 
have to suffer from the false charges of Ahabs and the per- 
secutions of Jezebels. It is enough for the disciple that he 
be as his Master and the servant as his Lord. The blessed 
Christ was accused of casting out devils by Beelzebub, the 
prince of the devils. And if, then, they have called the 
Master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they 
call them of his own household ! Wherefore, ministers of 
the Lord Jesus, be faithful to your Lord and Master; en- 
dure hardness as good soldiers of Jesus Christ. If you suf- 



CHARGE AND COUXTEB-CHARGE. 149 

fer "with him, you shall ^jlso be glorified together. Reck- 
on that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy 
to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in 
you. And when the last battle is fought and the victory 
won, then shall your triumphant Lord, taking you by 
the hand, present you to his Father, and say, These are 
they which have continued with me in my temptations. 
And I appoint unto them a kingdom, as thou, Father, hast 
appointed unto me, that they may eat and drink at my 
table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones, judging the twelve 
tribes of Israel. 



CHAPTER XV. 

CARMEL. 

THE charge of the wicked king has been answered by 
the counter-charge of the prophet. Elijah's indict- 
ment is true; Ahab knows it; Ahab feels it; and, therefore, 
he has no answer to make. Look now upon the prophet, 
and now upon the king. One would suppose Elijah is the 
justly offended sovereign, and Ahab the guilty, conscience- 
smitten subject. With all the majestic dignity of a crowned 
king, whose word is imperious law and must be obeyed, the 
prophet issues his orders to the crest-fallen monarch : "NoWy 
therefore, send, and gather to me all Israel unto Mount Car- 
met, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and 
the prophets of the grove four hundred, which eat at Jeze- 
bel's table." 

What a command 1 How kingly is it spoken ! " Gather 
to me all Israeli" This is a strange command from one 
w^ho, for more than three years, has been hounded as a fu- 
gitive from justice, and been searched for in every nook 
and corner of Israel, and in all lands on both sides of the 
Jordan. " Gather to me all Israel/ " It is a summons to 
Israel, from Dan on the north to Bethel on the south ; from 
Dor on the Mediterranean to Ramoth-gilead beyond Jor- 
dan. It is a call to the ten tribes to meet in solemn as- 
sembly on Mount Carmel. It is a convocation of the whole 
kingdom— of the king and court, of the elders and rulers 
of the people, of the people themselves, and of the priests 
of Baal and Ashera. Tor the summons reads: "Gather to 
me all Israel -unto Mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal 
(150) 



CARMEL. 151 



Jour hundred andffti/, and the prophets of the grove [Ashera] 
Jour hundred, ivhich eat at Jezebel's tableJ^ AVas there ever 
such command? And was ever such command so im- 
phcitly obeyed? For the king questions not; he does not 
even ask the purpose of the gathering. Pie implicitly 
obeys ; the royal mandate goes forth, summoning all Israel 
and the priests of Baal and Ashera to the place appointed 
by Elijah. "/So Ahab sent unto all the children oj Israel, 
and gathered the projjhets together unto Mount CarmeV* 
Ahab's messengers hurry through the kingdom, for "the 
king's business required haste." Swift as the fiery cross 
which, in after years, summoned Clan Alpine's sons to Lan- 
rick Mead, the king's heralds speed the call. It is heard 
first in the palace at Jezreel, and startles the courtiers of 
the king. Jezebel and the priests of Ashera hear it, and 
wonder what it means. The priests of Baal, in the tem- 
ple which Ahab built for them in Samaria — the new me- 
tropolis which Omri founded — are astounded by the royal 
proclamation. Shechem, Shiloh, and Bethel hear it on the 
south; Hazor, Kedesh, and Dan on the north; Gezer, Do- 
than, and Megiddo on the west; Heshbon, Succoth, and Ja- 
besh-gilead on the east. The king's summons is obeyed. 
Everywhere it is told that the long-sought Elijah has re- 
appeared unto Ahab, and that at his instance the gathering 
is called. The prophet's name is in every mouth. It is 
associated with the drought which made all Israel a desert. 
It is coupled with the curse which the 2:>rophet pronounced 
on his first appearing to Ahab. It awakens the memories 
of Jehovah's past dealings with their fiithers — his miracu- 
lous providences, his terrible judgments, and his appear- 
ances to prophets, priests, and kings. It recalls the rebell- 
ions of their sires, and their own idolatries. With minted 
feelincjs they receive the summons. AVith fear and trem- 
bling they hear it, dreading lest the gathering presage new 



152 ELIJAH VINDICATED, 

calamities to Israel. For the worship of Baal and Ashera 
has not yet so blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts 
as to efface altogether the knowledge, of the God of their 
fathers. Conscious of their wickedness and idolatries, they 
tremble lest Elijah's reappearance mean heavier judgments 
upon the king and people. And yet with gladness they 
hear the call ; even the most obdurate hoping it may result 
in removing the curse which was upon all the land. Among 
the people there were doubtless those who w^ere Baalites, 
because it was the religion of the king and court, and who 
outwardly, through fear of Jezebel, worshiped the Baalim. 
It is probable some desired the convocation to issue in the 
discomfiture of Ahab and Jezebel, the overthrow of Baal 
and Ashera, the reestablishment of the w^orship of Jehovah, 
and the restoration of the Mosaic ritual. It is certain there 
Avere a few scattered among the ten tribes who sighed and 
cried for the abominations of Israel. There were, perhaps, 
some — afterward increased to seven thousand — who had not 
bowed the knee to Baal or kissed his image. And besides, 
if they w^ere still alive, there were the one hundred proph- 
ets hid in a cave. If the king's summons was not heard by 
them, it is highly pi^obable that the good Obadiah secretly 
communicated to them the intelligence of the reappearing 
of Elijah, and of the approaching gathering on Carmel. It 
may well be imagined how those w^ho had not bowed the 
knee to Baal, and the one hundred prophets, received the 
w^elcome news. If the mouths of the faithful, through 
dread of Ahab and Jezebel, were restrained from laughter 
and their tongues from singing, they were no strangers to 
such deep joy as, years afterward, the captives felt by the 
rivers of Babylon, when the "Lord turned again the cap- 
tivity of Zion." And if the prophets, up to this tim.e, 
had escaped Jezebel's wrath, the hollow cave in which 
they w^re concealed was vocal with thanksgivings to God 



CARMEL, 153 



for the preservation of Elijah, and with prayers that he 
■would strengthen his prophet for the gathering on Carmel. 
The appointed day has arrived. In time for the gather- 
ing, they who have been summoned set out for Carmel. Not 
one who could make the journey would fail to obey the royal 
mandate. The sons of Reuben* went from the banks of the 
Arnon, and from the sheep-folds about Heshbon and Nebo ; 
of Simeon, from the vineyards and olive-yards of Rimmon 
and Ramoth ; of Gad, from the valley of the Jabbok, and 
the mountains of Gilead; of Manasseh, some from the fine 
pasture-lands and oaks of Bashan, and some from "the 
waters of Megiddo," and the lovely vale of Sharon; of 
Ephraim, from mounts Ebal and Gerizim; of Issachar, 
from the fertile plain of Jezreel and Mount Gilboa; of 
Zebulon, from the Sea of Chinnereth on the east to Car- 
mel on the west; of Dan, some from the rich corn-fields and 
gardens about Ajalon and Ekron, and some from the an- 
cient Laish, in the valley by Beth-rehob, bordering on 
dewy Hermon ; of Naphtali, from the cedar-forests and beau- 
tiful woodlands of Lebanon; of Asher, from the regions 
bordering on Tyre and Sidon ; and of Levi, from their cities 
scattered among the other tribes of the kingdom of Israel. 
The hunter left the wild-boar at bay in the thick woods of 
Lesser Hermon, or withdrew from the chase of the wild-roe on 
the mountains of Gilead. The firsherman forsook his nets 
in Chinnereth, or his fishing-boats on the shore of the great 
sea. The fowler quitted his snares, where he had been ly- 
ing in wait for the wild-fowl which feed about the marshes 
that border Lake Merom. The shepherd resigned to the 



*We have followed mainly Joshua's division of the land on the 
east and west of the Jordan. So many changes were afterward 
made, and so many different places were called by the same name, 
that it is difficult to determine with accuracy the respective tribal 
cities in the days of Elijah. 



154 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

care of boys and girls the fleecy flocks that browse on the 
wooded slopes of the mountains of the Jordan, or in the val- 
leys of Megiddo and Sharon. The artificer in iron dropped 
the heated metal unbeaten on the anvil ; the armorer threw 
aside the "shields and spears and helmets and habergeons" 
which he had been repairing in the royal workshops of Sa- 
maria. The woodman abandoned the tall cedar half-felled 
on the eastern side of snow-capped Lebanon; and the vine- 
dresser lefb the vines unpruned and the fig and olive trees 
unwatered in the parched vineyards of Shechem and Tir- 
zah. The priest of Baal turned away from the victim which 
he had just immolated on the altar of the god in his temple 
at Samaria; and the king and his royal courtiers set forth 
from the palace in Jezreel. The children of Israel, from 
the mountains and plains in the land promised to their fa- 
thers, crowded the thoroughfares and by-ways, all hurrying 
to the convocation about to assemble on Mount Carmel. 

While the king and court, the priests of Baal, and the 
sons and daughters of Israel are hastening to Carmel, let us 
pause to take a view of the mount set apart for the gather- 
ing. If no other interest were thrown around it, the great 
convocation soon to assemble, and the astounding events 
about to occur on its summit, would make Carmel one of 
the most memorable places in all the earth. But while the 
present gathering is by far its chief, it is, as we shall see, 
not its only interest. It is a hallowed spot, and has been 
the witness — even when it has not been the immediate 
theater — of many important events in the history of the hu- 
man race. To the pious Hebrew it is a place of almost 
equal veneration with mounts Zion and Horeb ; and to the 
Christian, while it yields to Bethlehem and Calvary, and 
to all places hallowed by the personal ministry of Jesus, it 
is one of the most sacred of all in Holy Land that have 
been consecrated by the presence and gloi-y of God. 



CAJRMEL. 155 



Forty miles south of Tyre, and about twenty miles west 
of Nazareth, a bold promontory juts out into the Mediter- 
ranean, forming the Bay of Acre. From this promontory 
a mountain-ridge, whose highest elevation some estimate 
at seventeen hundred and fifty feet above the level of the 
tea, extends about sixteen miles to the south-east, suddenly 
ending where the mountains of Samaria begin. Its lower 
part — and yet not so near as not to leave room for a fertile 
plain between — inclines toward the Mediterranean, giving 
to the whole range somewhat a crescent-shaped appearance. 
This mountain-ridge is between the valley of Sharon on 
the west, and the valley of Jezreel on the east. To the 
whole ridge the name Carmel has been given. The Mount 
Carmel, the scene of Elijah's sacrifice, is a "flattened, cone- 
shaped" elevation on the east, near its northern extremity. 
The modern name of the mount is Jebel Mar JElias, or " The 
Mount of St. Elijah." The inner part of the mount, over- 
looking the brook Kishon and the plain of Jezreel, is the 
place to which Elijah summoned the children of Israel and 
the priests of Baal. The particular spot pointed out as 
the place of sacrifice is "a terrace of natural rock," and is 
called by the Turks El Murakah, or " The Sacrifice." It 
has been so thoroughly ide/itified, it is believed, that no one 
questions its being the locality of Elijah's sacrificial altar. 

The Old Testament affords abundant proof that Carmel 
•was held by the Hebrews to be one of the most beautiful 
and picturesque of all the mountains of Palestine. The 
name itself suggests a pleasing and lovely image. It is 
either "the country of vineyards and gardens," or it is "the 
park," or "well-wooded place." It gave to the Hebrews 
some of their finest illustrations, and most striking meta- 
phors. King Solomon, in an idyl, likened Carmel to the 
head of the beautiful Egyptian princess whom he had 
espoused. The shepherd prophet of Israel — the herdnuin 



156 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

of Tekoa — forcibly depicted the blighting effects of the 
drought which he foretold, by the mourning habitations of 
the shej^herds and the withered top of Carmel. When 
Micah prefigured the future prosperity and increase of Israel 
in the better days to come, he represented Jehovah as a 
shepherd returning to Carmel, guiding with his crook, and, 
in the midst thereof, feeding the flock of his heritage which 
had dwelt solitarily in its wood. When Isaiah wished to 
give the most impressive illustration of the desolations 
which sin and idolatry bring upon a people, he wrote: "TAe 
earth mourneth and languisheth; Lebanon is ashamed and 
hewn down; Sharon is like a ivilderness; and Bashan and 
Carmel shake off their fruits ." Carmel shaking off its fruits, 
and therefore stripped of its excellence and beauty, is with 
the prophet a synonym for a land forsaken and smitten of 
God on account of its idolatries. On the other hand, when 
the same rapt prophet, depicting the resplendent glories of 
the triumphant Messianic Church, likened it to the desert 
rejoicing and blossoming as the rose, he gave the finishing 
touch to his exquisite picture when he added, "fAe glory 
of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel 
and Sharon." In "The Messiah," the bard, "rapt into fut- 
ure years," who celebrated the birth of the "auspicious 
Babe" in Bethlehem, thus introduces his advent: 

See, nature hastes her earliest wreaths to bring, 
With all the incense of the breathing spring I 
See lofty Lebanon his head advance ! 
See nodding forests on the mountain dance/ 
See spicy clouds from lovely Sharon rise, 
And Carmel' s floivery top perfume the sJcies / 

Nor, at this day, is Carmel without manifest evidence of 
its former glory. Travelers who have visited Holy Land, 
who have stood on Carmel, and taken in its beauties, tell 
us it is a place of surpassing loveliness. "There are few 



CABMEL. 157 



travelers," says Kitto, " who do not forget as much of what 
they have seen as most people do of the books they have 
read." But Carmel, he says, "is a scene which he who has 
once beheld forgets no more." 

Notwithstanding the present desolations of Palestine — 
p,bout which we have written — arising from the curse of 
God upon the land for its wickedness, from ruinous tillage, 
an indolent people, and a bad government, Carmel possesses 
much of its pristine beauty. Its summit, travelers tell us, 
is crowned w^ith perpetual verdure ; various evergreens, the 
prickly oak, the pine, and the myrtle, are abundant. Olives 
and laurels adorn its sides. The lesser shrubs and aro- 
matic herbs and flowers in profusion fill "the enlivening 
atmosphere" with their perfumes. They speak enthusiast- 
ically of its "rocky dells with deep jungles of copse," and 
of its " impenetrable brush-wood of oaks, and other ever- 
greens, tenanted in the wilder parts by a profusion of game 
and wild animals." "Its shrubberies," Dean Stanley tells 
us, "are thicker than any others in Central Palestine." It 
is said to be "bright with hollyhocks, jasmine, and various 
flowering creepers." And all agree it is exceedingly well 
watered, and some speak in glowing terms of " the multi- 
tude of crystal brooks" — "from one of which issues the 
fountain of Elijah" — hurrying to the Kishon in the valley 
below. 

The mountain, which is of oolite limestone, abounds in 
caves and grottoes. These were once the abode of proph- 
ets; Elijah, and Elisha after him, sometimes dwelt among 
them. A cave is pointed out as the abode of the Tishbite, 
and is called "The Cave of Elijah." In Carmel, after the 
death of her son, Elisha received the visit of the Shunam- 
mite. But not by the Hebrews alone was Carmel regarded 
with interest. It is said the philosopher Pythagoras sought 
retirement in its solitudes. Tacitus mentions an oracle on 



158 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

its summit — neither statue nor temple, a venerated altar 
only — which Vespasian consulted. Its peculiar sanctity 
early attracted the Christian anchorite and hermit. The 
Carmelite monks had their origin there, and made it the 
seat of their order. According to the legends of these men- 
dicant friars, Elijah himself was their founder; Jonah, 
Micah, and Obadiah were his first disciples. A wild legend 
avers that the wife of the governor of Ahab's house, '* un- 
der an oath of chastity," received the veil from the hands 
of the Tishbite, and became the first abbess of a female 
chapter of the order. The Virgin Mary and Jesus Christ 
himself, it is claimed, were Carmelites, assuming their profes- 
sion and adopting their dress. At least as early as 1185 Pho- 
cas, " a Greek monk of the isle of Patmos," visited Carmel, 
and found upon it the ruins of a monastery. Amid these 
ruins Phocas saw "a small inclosure, a bell-tower, and a 
little church," Avhich had been erected a short time pre- 
viously by "an old gray-haired priest from Calabria," sent 
and commissioned by Elijah to build them. Whatever may 
be the truth of these monkish legends, there is no doubt 
that, early in the Middle Ages, convents and chapels be- 
gan to appear on Carmel. When these were destroyed by 
the rude hands of Saracens and Turks, others in time were 
erected in their place. At the fountain of Elijah, in 1209, 
a convent was built in honor of St. Bocardus; in 1238 
its monks were slain, and the neglected building fell into 
ruins. Another, erected in 1631, was dismantled in 1821 
by Abdallah Pasha of St. Jean D' Acre, who transported its 
stones to his city and used them to build its walls. But as 
the building, a few years afterward, was restored by com- 
mand of the Ottoman Porte, the Carmelite monks still have 
a convent and chapels there. The emblematic design of 
their order, as interpreted by themselves, asserts its con- 
nection with Carmel and the prophet Elijah. Its device is 



CAFMEL. 159 



a mountain, above which are three stars beneath a crown, 
out of which 2^rotrudes an arm with a drawn sword in its 
grip. That mountain is Mount Carmel; the stars are the 
virgin mother of Jesus ; the crown denotes her supremacy ; 
the arm is the arm of Elijah, and the sword represents the 
Tishbite's fiery zeal. A Roman pontiff, the Carmelites 
claim, as early as the seventh century, recognized the or- 
der; many others afterward, in various bulls and rescripts, 
bestowed upon it special immunities; and one of them Bene- 
dict XII., as late as 1725, allowed its different chapters to erect 
in St. Peter's, at Rome, a statue to Elijah, their common 
founder, and to put upon it the inscription : " Uiiiversus Ordo 
Cai^ielitarum fundatori suo sando Eliw prophetce erexlf 

Nor were those whom we have mentioned the only pro- 
prietors of Carmel's sacred precincts. They have had a 
charm for Mohammedans as well as for Hebrews, pagans, 
and Christians. There the Turkish mosque lifted its tall 
minaret high above the neighboring sea and plain; and 
there the muezzin called to prayer the devout followers of 
the Moslem prophet. Various villages, which flourished 
when not laid waste by marauding Druses, have diversified 
the mountain. In some of these villages Americans at- 
tempted but failed to establish colonies. In a village named 
Haifa, on the northern end of the mountain, a company 
of German Protestant Dissenters calling themselves Tem- 
plars — who made their first settlement in 1869 — have suc- 
ceeded in establishing themselves, and maintaining what 
eeems to be a permanent footing. A heathen oracle, a 
Catholic convent, a Mohammedan mosque, and a Protestant 
chapel have appeared on the mount consecrated by the sac- 
rifice of Elijah and the fire which came do^vn from God 
out of heaven at Elijah's word. 

All who have visited Carmel love to dwell on the en- 
chanting scenes visible from its summit. There are no love* 



160 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

lier views from any other mountain on earth. Let the 
reader suppose himself standing upon Carmel with his face 
toward the setting sun. Before him are the dark blue 
waters of the Mediterranean, bounded alone by the distant 
horizon. On the right, to the north-west, is the Bay of 
Acre, nestling close under the promontory of Carmel, 
where alone it affords a safe anchorage for ships; and 
on its northern shore, across the bay, appears the ancient 
Accho of the Phenicians, or the St. Jean DAcre of the 
Knights of St. John. Farther north on the coast are the 
seats of ancient Tyre and Zarephath and Zidon. Turning 
now to the south and south-west, on the same coast, is Jaffa 
— the Japho of the Old Testament, the Joppa of the New, 
and the sea-port of Jerusalem, where dwelt Simon the tan- 
ner, on whose house-top Peter had his memorable trance. 
Just above Jaffa on the sea-shore is Cesarea, built by King 
Herod the Great, the metropolis of the Herodian kings, 
and the seat of Felix and Festus, the procurators of Judea 
in the days of St. Paul. Nearer to Carmel, and between it 
and the Mediterranean, is the lovely vale of Sharon, where 
grew the rose to which the bride of the amorous king in 
Canticles likened herself. Below Sharon, and south by east 
from Carmel, are the mountains of Samaria ; to the south- 
east are mounts Gerizim and Ebal, on which, respectively, 
Joshua put the blessing and the curse ; and beyond are the 
sacred mountains of Benjamin and Judah. Facing the 
east, and directly in front of Carmel, are Nazareth, im- 
mortalized by its association with the name of Jesus ; Mount 
Tabor, where some say our Lord was transfigured ; and the 
mountains of the Jordan. At Carmel's base, on the same 
side, runs the brook Kishon to the Bay of Acre ; beyond, 
and between it and the Jordan, is the rich and vast plain 
of Esdraelon, the Greek name for the ancient valley of 
Jezreel, or plain of Megiddo. To the north-east are the 



CARMEL, 161 



hills of Galilee shelteriDg.the Sea of Chinnereth, or Lake 
Genuesaret; and beyond, visible in the clear atmosphere, 
are dewy Hermon and the tall peaks of Libaniis and 
Antilibanus, and crowned with perpetual snows. All these 
and many other places in Holy Land, "dignified by wis- 
dom, bravery, and virtue," may be seen from the heights 
of Carmel. 

Carmel overlooks regions that were the theater of many 
great events of ancient or modern times. In the valley of 
Jezreel, at the brook Kishon, Barak and Deborah van- 
quished Sisera, captain of the hosts of Jabin. The same 
plain resounded with the battle-cry, "T/ie sword of the 
Lord and of Gideon!" when Gideon and his valiant three 
hundred slew the Midianites. Carmel looked on when 
the Philistines routed the Israelites the day King Saul, 
smitten by the archers, fell upon the sword of his armor- 
bearer in Mount Gilboa. To the south and the south- 
west it surveys or overlooks battle-fields famous in the 
wars of the Hebrews. It surveys or overlooks the scene 
of Joshua's victory the time he went up from Gilgal and 
smote the Amorites while the sun stood still upon Gib- 
eon and the moon in the valley of Ajalon. It surveys 
or overlooks the field of David's triumph the day he 
heard "a sound of going in the tops of the mulberry- 
trees,'* and smote the Philistines from Gibeon to Gezer. 
It took in the memorable sieges which Samaria endured 
from the first under Ben-hadad to the last under Shalmane- 
ser ; and it was an eye-witness when that metropolis of Israel 
was taken, and saw the ten tribes while they were being led 
captive to Assyria. And in the distance — far to the south- 
west — in the regions made illustrious by the victories of 
Joshua and Samson, w^ere Bethoron, where the valiant Ju- 
das JMaccabeus defeated Apollonius; Adasa, where he tri- 
umphed over Nicanor; Bethsura, where he discomfited 
11 



162 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

Lysias ; and the fatal Eleasa, -where that great champion of 
Jewish independence was slain. 

Long after the kingdoms of Judah and Israel ceased to 
exist, within the territory divided by Joshua among the 
twelve tribes many were the great battles and sieges that 
might have been witnessed from Carmel. Within that ter- 
ritory Alexander the Great, the Ptolemies, the Antiochi, 
Demetrius, the Maccabees, Pompey, Vespasian, Titus, Ces- 
tius Gallus, and many others — Greek, Roman, Egyptian, 
Assyrian, Persian, Arabian, Saracenian, Turkish, and Jew- 
ish — contended for lust and empire, or for country and 
freedom. In the Middle Ages it was the theater of great 
battles between the Christian and the Mohammedan, the 
European and the Asiatic ; between the civilization of the 
West and the civilization of the East. The Crusaders, 1110, 
under Godfrey de Bouillon, Robert Duke of Normandy, 
Raymond Count of Toulouse, and Tancred the Flower of 
Chivalry, having taken Antioch and St. Jean D'Acre, 
marched by Carmel to Cesarea, and thence to the siege 
and conquest of Jerusalem. Carmel saw the heroic and 
successful defense of Tyre by Conrad of Montferrat when 
besieged by Saladin just after he wrested Jerusalem from 
the Franks. It looked on when St. Jean D'Acre, in 1187, 
was retaken by the great Moslem Caliph. It saw, in 1191, 
another siege of St. Jean D'Acre, when it was encompassed 
by the combined fleets and armies of Christian Europe. 
At anchor in the bay at its foot, Carmel beheld the allied 
battle-ships from Genoa, Pisa, and Venice; from France, 
Normandy, and the British Isles ; and from Flanders, Fries- 
land, and Denmark. In the armies pressing the siege by 
land, it looked down upon the crimson-hued silken ori- 
flamme of St. Denys and the red-cross banner of St. George. 
It saw the politic Philip Augustus of France and the im- 
petuous, lion-hearted Richard Plantagenet of England mar- 



CARMEL, 163 



slialing and leading their crusading hosts to rescue St. Jean 
D'Acre from its garrison of Turks and Saracens. It heard 
Saladin's trumpet-call when he summoned to the aid of its 
brave INIoslem defenders the followers of the false prophet 
from Egypt, from Syria, from Arabia, and from the Ori- 
ental provinces between the Tigris and the Indus. Carmel 
saw St. Jean D'Acre again in the hands of the Christians, 
but not until nine battles had been fought, and one hun- 
dred thousand of its Christian besiegers alone had perished 
within its sight. It witnessed the forced march of the vic- 
torious Crusaders from St. Jean D'Acre to Ascalou — ''a 
great and perpetual battle of eleven days " — and the defeat 
of Saladin beneath its walls by King Richard of England. 
It saw, in 1291, St. Jean D'Acre again beleaguered and taken 
by the Ottoman. It looken on, in 1799, when Bonaparte, fresh 
from the battle of the Pyramids in Egypt, invaded Pales- 
tine, marched from Gaza to Jaffa, and from there to the 
siege of St. Jean D'Acre. It witnessed, during its siege, 
Napoleon's splendid victory at Mount Tabor over the Mos- 
lem tribes of the mountains of Naplouse under Abdallah 
Pasha of Damascus. It surveyed the brave and successful 
defense of St. Jean D'Acre by its Mohammedan garrison 
and the allied British fleet under Sir Sidney Smith. It wit- 
nessed Bonaparte's failure before, and his retreat from, 
St. Jean D'Acre, what time he hurried to Aboukir, to 
Paris, to the eighteenth of Brumaire, to the Consulate, to 
Marengo, and to Empire. Carmel again saw St. Jean 
D'Acre besieged and taken. It Avas an eye-witness of its 
siege when Ibrahim Pasha took it in 1832; and it was a 
looker-on when, in 1840, it was reduced to ruins by the 
bombardment of a British fleet under Admiral Stopford, 
rescued from the Egyptians, and delivered over to the Sul- 
tan, the friend and ally of England. It saw tlie ancient 
Accho of the Phenicians, Ptolemais of the Egyptians. Colo- 



164 ELIJAH VINDICATED, 

nia Claudii Ccesaris of the Romans, and St. Jean D'Acre 
of the Knights Hospitalers of St. John in the hands of 
Pheuicians, Babylonians, Assyrians, Persians, Egyptians, 
Jews, Turks, Saracens, Greeks, Romans, English, French, 
and others; and it witnessed the slaughter of the many 
thousands who, for twenty-five centuries, successively per- 
ished in its defense or siege. No other place on the face 
of the globe has witnessed so many battles and sieges as 
the heights of old Carmel. But among them all not one 
is to be compared, in the importance and grandeur of its 
results, with the contest which took place on its summit be- 
tween the prophet Elijah and the priests of Baal. 

Such is Carmel; such are its environs, and such its 
associations. Upon its summit, on its eastern declivity, 
Ahab, the priests of Baal, and the children of Israel are 
assembled *to meet Elijah. All who had been summoned 
are there except the priests of Ashera who eat at Jezebel's 
table. Jezebel also is absent. If she was included in the 
summons, she has disobeyed the command of her king and 
husband. The queen has not only staid away, but she has 
kept back the priests of her tutelary Zidonian goddess. In 
the respective places assigned to them, the king, the court, 
the priests of Baal, and the children of Israel, with anx- 
ious expectancy, await the appearing of the prophet. Where 
is Elijah? what has become of him since the day he gave 
his commands to Ahab? where did he go? where is he now? 
No one can tell how many days intervened between Eli- 
jah's second interview with Ahab and the present gather- 
ing. Neither can any one say how and where the prophet 
spent the interval. In all probability he went to Carmel 
and hid himself in one of its caves. It is estimated that 
of them there are at least one thousand. And in this esti- 
mate are not included the wine-presses hewn out of the 
solid rock, giving evidence of the rich vintages from vine- 



CARMEL. 165 



yards that once flourished on its sides. Mountain-caves 
have often been objects of superstitious awe and fruitful 
sources of legendary tradition and chronicle. From a cave 
in Mount Cynthus at Delos, and from another in Mount 
Parnassus at Delphi, issued respectively the Delian and 
Delphic oracles of the Grecian Apollo. At Delj^hi the 
Amphictyonic Council met, consulted the god in his tem- 
ple, and, receiving his answer from the aditum to the 
cave W'hence arose the inspiring vapor that gave divina- 
tion to his prophetess, decided questions of peace and 
war. The Corycian cave in Parnassus was the abode of 
the Muses, and the seat of poetry and song; and so vast 
were its dimensions that, during a Persian invasion, it 
hid securely wuthin its walls all the inhabitants of Del- 
phi. And in a cave at Cumse dwelt the Sibyl whom 
^neas consulted before his descent to hell. In Old Testa- 
ment days caves were used for habitation, for burial, and 
for refuge. Lot and his two daughters dw^elt in a cave in 
the mountain near Zoar ; Abraham . buried Sarah in the 
cave of Machpelah at Hebron ; and to the cave of Adul- 
1am David fled for refuge from King Saul. The caves of 
Carmel afforded such safe hiding-places that they defied 
pursuit, and became symbols of security. How they were 
regarded as places of refuge may be learned from the pas- 
sage in Amos: "Though they [the enemies of God] dig 
into hell, thence shall mine hand take them; though they 
climb up into heaven, thence will I bring them dow^n ; and 
though they hide themselves in the top of Carmel, I w^ill 
search and take them out hence." Among the taunts Isaiah 
mentions wherewith Sennacherib, in the days of Hezekiah, 
defied the Holy One of Israel, was the proud boast that he 
would come up to the heiglit of the mountains, to the sides 
of Lebanon ; that he would cast down the tall cedars thereof, 
and the choice fir-trees thereof; that he would enter into the 



166 ELIJAH VINDICATED, 

height of his border, and the forest of his Carmel. In one of 
its caves it is likely Elijah has been concealed since he gave 
the command to Ahab to gather to him unto Carmel all 
Israel and the priests of Baal and Ashera. From his con- 
cealment the Tishbite again, like an apparition, bursts upon 
Ahab, and stands in the presence of the astonished multi- 
tude that had been waiting his appearing and anxiously 
inquiring for him. All eyes are turned upon Elijah. In 
breathless silence they fix their gaze upon the man with the 
shaggy hair, sheep-skin mantle, and leathern girdle. The 
Tishbite, that he may be seen and heard by the last man 
in the vast assembly, stands upon some eminence, lifts up 
his voice like a trumpet, and cries : ''How long halt ye he- 
tween two opinions f if the Lord be God, follow him ; but if 
Baal, then follow him." The startled people are dumb. 
Not a word is heard in response. Afraid of Ahab, no 
man in the assembly dares to say that the Lord is God ; 
awed by the presence of Elijah, who has given such signal 
proof that he is a prophet of the Lord God of their fathers, 
no one ventures to say that Baal is God. "And the joeople 
answered not a ivord." The silence is awful. Nor is it bro- 
ken until it is broken by Elijah. The bold Tishbite, un- 
daunted by the silence of the people, whether that silence 
resulted from fear, from apathy or indifference, breaks up 
the silence by a haughty and defiant challenge to the priests 
of Baal : " Then said Elijah unto the people, I, even I only, 
remain a prophet of the Lord; but Baal's prophets are four 
hundred and fifty men. Let them therefore give us two bid- 
locks; and let them choose one bullock for themselves, and cut 
it in pieces, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under; and 
I will dress the other bullock, and lay it on wood, and put no 
fire under; and call ye on the name of your gods, and L will 
call on the name of the Lord; and the God that answer dh 
by fire, let him be God." The prophet has delivered his 



C ARM EL. 167 



challenge; he has thrown down his gauntlet. Will the 
priests of Baal accept the challenge ? ^vill they dare to take 
up Elijah's gauntlet? They must, they must; there is no 
escape. The contest proposed is so fair that it cannot be 
declined without disgrace to the priests of Baal and the ac- 
knowledgment of their defeat. If Baal's priests had any 
purpose to decline the combat, they had no way of escape 
when all the people answered the prophet of God, and said, 
''It if well spoken J^ 



CHAPTER XVI. 

THE GREAT QUESTION. 

THE question Elijah put to the children of Israel on 
Carmel deserves a separate chapter. It was most per- 
tinent then ; it is as pertinent at this day as in the days of 
the Tishbite. It is a question that must be answered, soon- 
er or later, by all having a revelation from God and still 
halting between two opinions. Upon its decision depend the 
momentous issues of life and death, of heaven and hell. 

^^How long halt ye between two opinions f " is not the literal 
rendering. It is an explanation or interpretation of the 
metaphor. Some apply the figure to birds, restless, moving 
from one branch to another, and not long continuing on 
either. They who adopt this as the true meaning render 
thus: "How long leap ye upon two branches?" or, "How 
long hop ye from twig to twig?" Others take it from the 
action of one lame of limb, moving now on this side and 
now on that, irregular, unsteady, limping, hobbling, and 
hence translate, "How long limp ye upon two hams?" 
But whatever the literal rendering, the prophet's meaning 
is evident, and our Authorized Version gives the true sense. 
How long halt ye — hesitate — between two opinions — 
thoughts, considerations — is an explanation conveying the 
meaning so clearly that it cannot be misunderstood. 

To halt — "Anglo-Saxon healtian, Danish halte, . . . Ger- 
man halten" — is "to hold one's self from proceeding, , . , 
to stop in walking or marching ; to stop with lameness ; to 
be lame ; to limp ; to stand in doubt to proceed, or what to 
do ; to hesitate." To halt between two opinions is to be in- 
(168) 



THE GEE AT QUESTIOX. 169 

decisive, to doubt which is correct, and hence to hesitate 
how to act. All action, if any, is uncertain, irregular, and 
inconsistent. Now the one opinion controls, now the other. 
And when these opinions are embodied, and represent two 
parties, the halting is now on the side of this party, and 
now on the side of that ; now^ he is on neither side, and now 
he trims between them. He is a creature of circumstances, 
having^ no courage of his convictions. Under one set of cir- 
cumstances he is with the one party, and acts with it ; un- 
der other conditions he acts with the other. But when the 
incentives and persuasives appear to be evenly balanced, he 
either proclaims a neutrality or seeks so to distribute his 
influence and favors as to be claimed by both. When at 
a loss how to decide, he aims so to serve, and be accounted 
the friend of both, as to secure the respective honors and re- 
gards and escape the opprobium and penalty. This is 
fickleness and cowardice; it is insincerity and hypocrisy. 
The halting, limping man, if he be a man of action at all, 
being double-minded, is ^'unstable in all his ways." 

But this is not all. Halting may produce inaction ; it 
may end in stolid indifference, or remorseless apathy. This 
is likely to be the final issue when long continued. Trim- 
mers like Halifax become careless Gallios. Halting He- 
brews, in the days of Elijah, may have become as indiffer- 
ent about the contest between Jehovah and Baal as was the 
Roman deputy of Achaia about the " question of words and 
names" which divided Christians and Jews at the time the 
latter brought Paul to the judgment-seat of Caesar's pro- 
consul. But it may be said that the ascription of indiffer- 
ence to Gallio does him great injustice; for he was the most 
courteous and cultured heathen of his day. He may have 
been: "the sweet Gallio" may have deserved all his broth- 
er, the illustrious Seneca, beautifully and affectionately said 
of him. And yet, for all that, he was indifferent — yea, more 



170 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

than indifferent — to the religious convictions of the Christian 
and Jewish subjects of his province: "he drove them from 
the judgment-seat." Chesterfield likewise was courteous 
and cultured; his manners Samuel Johnson called "ex- 
quisitely elegant;" and yet the father of Philip Stanhope 
had no religious convictions of his own ; nor did he concern 
himself about those of others, unless it was to ridicule and 
deride them. The truth is — pardoning the seeming paren- 
thesis — men who have no settled convictions become tired of 
acting. They become annoyed by opinions that have no 
hold upon their convictions ; they weary in the employ of 
those to whom they reader an unwilling and heartless serv- 
ice. Besides, insincerity, or hypocrisy, is hard to be kept 
up ; it requires too great a tax of effort to sustain it. The 
mask is quickly and gladly thrown off the moment it is nei- 
ther profitable to keep it up nor dangerous to lay it aside. In- 
action is freedom from care ; indifference is peace ; apathy is 
rest. It matters not whether Jehovah or Baal is God. It is 
of no concern whether Elijah or Ahab is right. It is a thing 
of no importance, or of very little, which side prevails. 
Satisfied with itself, indifference wishes not to be disturbed. 
At ease in Zion, it is at best lukewarm ; it says, " I am rich, 
and increased with goods, and have need of nothing," know- 
ing not that it is "wretched, and miserable, and poor, and 
blind, and naked." 

Nor have we yet told all. None may become so blind as 
the halting. No matter how opposite certain opinions may 
be; they may be as wide as the poles apart, or as difficult 
to mix as oil and water, and yet the moral sense may be so 
weakened by habitual halting as to confound them, or re- 
sult in the vain attempt to unite and harmonize them. 
What color-blindness is to vision — so confusing colors that 
they cannot be distinguished — indecision and vacillation are 
to that faculty of the human soul whose office is to discrim- 



THE GREAT QUESTION. Ill 

inate between right and wrong. As prismatic colors are 
confusedly blended by the color-blind, so the distinctions be- 
tween right and wrong may be utterly confounded by the 
habitually halting. Hence the vain effort to effect a com- 
promise between Jehovah and Baal; between God and 
Mammon. And hence among the multitudes on Carmel to 
meet Elijah there were those who sought by comprehension 
to combine the Mosaic and the Baalitish ritual. The dual- 
god, whom they set up for themselves, they tried to repre- 
sent by appropriate symbols, and worship under some such 
name as Jehovah-Baal. 

It is probable that all classes represented by the halting 
were among the assembled thousands on Carmel. Elijah's 
aim was to bring them all to an immediate and final decis- 
ion. His purpose Avas to incite the wavering; to inflame 
the lukewarm; to awaken the indifferent; to arouse the 
apathetic ; and to alarm those who had joined the worship 
of Baal to the worship of Jehovah. The prophet stood 
squarely on the first and second commandments of the Lord 
God of Israel: "Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any 
likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in 
the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth ; 
thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them ; 
for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the ini- 
quity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and 
fourth generation of them that hate me; and shewing mercy 
unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my command- 
ments." "Tjf the Lord he Godjolloiv him ; hut if Baal, then fol- 
low himy It was thus Elijah put it to the halting Israel- 
ites on Carmel. His meaning could not be mistaken. 
"There is," in effect, he said to Israel, "but one only living 
and true God ; and that only living and true God is the 
Lord God, who brought your fathers out of the land of 



172 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

Egypt, and out of the house of bondage. Him only shalt 
thou serve; him only shalt thou worship. For the Lord 
Jehovah is a jealous God, and will not share his honor with 
another. And as the Lord God is a Spirit, and not to be 
likened to any thing made by men's hands, all image-wor- 
ship is an abomination in his sight, and all image-worshipers 
are idolaters. Equally idolatrous are they who worship the 
creature — any thing God has made in the earth beneath, or 
in the heaven above. Hear, O Israel, in whose fathers 'the 
Lord had a delight to love them,' what was commanded by 
his servant Moses, 'The Lord our God is one Lord; and 
thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and 
with all thy soul, and with all thy might.' Was it not the 
Lord God, O Israel, who ' brought thee into the land whicli 
he swore unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to 
Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, which thou build- 
edst not, and houses full of all good things, which thou fill- 
edst not, vineyards and olive-trees, which thou plantedst not ? ' 
Did not your fathers go ' down to Egypt with threescore and 
ten persons,' and now hath not the Lord thy God ' made 
thee as the stars of heaven for multitude?' Did not the 
Lord God command your fathers, and their children after 
them, to burn with fire the graven images of the gods of the 
heathen nations whom he drove out before thee, and whose 
lands he gave thee for an inheritance? Did he not com- 
mand them, saying, ' Thou shalt not desire the silver nor 
gold that is on them, nor take it unto thee, lest thou be 
snared therein; for it is an abomination to the Lord thy 
God ? ' And did he not say, ' Neither shalt thou bring an 
abomination into thine house, lest thou be a cursed thing 
like it; but thou shalt utterly detest it, and thou shalt utter- 
ly abhor it; for it is a cursed thing? ' Hast thou not taken 
the graven images of heathen gods into thine house? is 
not the cursed thing in thy dwelling? and will you change 



THE GREAT QUESTION. 173 

Jehovah for Baal? ' hath a natiou changed their gods, which 
are yet no gods?' and will you change 'your glory for that 
which doth not profit?' w^as not the Lord the glory of your 
fathers? was he not their praise? why then is he not yours? 
Were not his promises to them, and to their seed after 
them? and do you not owe to him life, and breath, and 
country, and all things? will the heathen hold on to their 
gods, which are yet no gods, and not change them for others? 
and will you change the Self-existent, the Eternal, the Al- 
mighty, the Holy One of Israel, who made the earth and 
the heavens, for the gods of the heathen which are no gods, 
but dumb and insensate idols made with hands? But is Baal 
God? hath he, and not the Lord God of Israel, made the 
earth and the heavens ? is he self-existent, omniscient, omni- 
present, immutable, almighty, eternal? then follow him; 
then serve and worship him, and him alone. For there is 
but one God. If Baal be that one God, then worship Je- 
hovah no more. Do not render unto Baal a divided serv- 
ice. Be one thing or the other. Away with your indecis- 
ion! It is a loathing to the Lord God of your fathers. 
Why halt ye between two opinions? You must decide one 
way, or the other. You must either give up Baal, or you 
must give up Jehovah. You cannot serve both. Israel's God 
admits no compromise with Baal, or comprehension of him. 
Choose, then, your God ; and let the decision be final. 'And 
if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this 
day whom you will serve; whether the gods which your 
fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or 
the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell,' or 
the gods of the Zidonians, the idolatrous allies of your idol- 
atrous king and queen." 

Thus the bold and zealous Tishbite allowed no compro- 
mise; he demanded an immediate decision — the renounce- 
ment of Jehovah, or the renouncement of Baal. Then and 



174 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

there on Carmel by his servant Elijah, as before at 
Shechem by his servant Joshua, and as afterward in the 
land of the Chaldeans by his servant Ezekiel, the Lord God 
challenged his people to serve him alone, or to abandon his 
service forever. "As for you, O house of Israel," thus he said 
in Ezekiel, " go ye, serve ye every one his idols, and here- 
after also if ye will not hearken unto me; but pollute ye my 
holy name no more with your gifts, and with your idols." 
For the Lord God will not always bear with a divided 
service; to him it is an abomination. And as it was in 
Joshua's, in Elijah's, and in Ezekiel's day, so it is now. 
Sooner or later, he brings the halting to a final decision ; 
sooner or later, he will, by his embassadors, put to the halt- 
ing of this day the same question which, by his servant 
Elijah, he put to assembled Israel on Carmel: ^'How long 
halt ye between two opinions f if the Lord he God^ follow him; 
hut if Baal, then follow him." But before we push this ques- 
tion, let me remind the reader that Elijah's question was 
not put to the priests of Baal, or to any who worshiped 
him alone, but to the halting of Israel, who were in doubt, 
either as to which was the true God ; or if both Jehovah and 
Baal were Gods, to which superior worship was due; or 
whether there might not be such a comprehension of both — 
such a compromise between them — that both might be 
equally worshiped. 

When considering the Baalism of Ahab, we said that 
practically the same contest is going on now which was 
going on in his day. As it was in time past when God 
spoke unto the fathers by the prophets, so it is in these last 
days wherein God speaks to us by his Son. As there were 
those, in the olden time, who changed the glory of the in- 
corruptible God into an image, and the truth of God into a 
lie, and worshiped and served the creature more than the 
Creator ; as there were those who either halted betw^een the 



THE GREAT QUESTION. 175 

\vorship of God and the worship of Baal or sought a coiUv 
promise between them, so now, at this present time, there 
are those who either set up some strange god in their heartSj 
and give to him the worship which is due to the Lord God 
ah)ne, or try to serve both. There are those who reject God's 
ouly-begotten Son, and refuse to have the man Christ Jesus 
to reign over them ; and there are those who either make 
light of salvation by faith in Christ, excuse themselves for 
not following him, render to him a heartless and lukewarm 
service, or are indifferent to his claims. These are the 
Baalites of to-day; for all the forms of direct or indirect 
opposition to Christ are but modifications of Israel's Baalism 
in the times of Elijah. 

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came into the world ac- 
cording to prophecy and promise. An angel from God told 
to his virgin mother his miraculous conception by the Holy 
Ghost, and his consequent birth ; a multitude of the heaven- 
ly host, when he was born in Bethlehem, sung, " Glory to 
God in the highest, and on earth peace, good-will toward 
men." His name was called Jesus; for he saves his people 
from their sins. "All this was done, that it might be ful- 
filled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, 
Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth 
a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being 
interpreted is, God with us." This is the Shiloh which 
was to come, and unto whom the gathering of the people 
was to be; this is he whom Isaiah called Wonderful, 
Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting 
Father, The Prince of Peace. This is the brightness 
of the Father's glory; the express image, the counterpart,, 
the exact resemblance, of his essence, or essential being. 
This is the heir of all things. This is he by whom the worlds 
were made; who upholdeth all things by the word of his 
power. This is he of whom, and to whom, the Father said; 



176 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 



" Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever ; a scepter of right- 
eousness is the scepter of thy kingdom." This is the Desire 
of nations, the Redeemer of the world, and the Saviour of 
men. This is he upon whom the Spirit of the Lord de- 
scended like a dove, and of whom a voice from heaven pro- 
claimed, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well 
pleased." This is he who, in the presence of Moses and 
Elijah from heaven, and of Peter and James and John from 
earth, was transfigured on "the mountain apart," and 
whose face did shine as the sun, and whose raiment was 
white as the light. This is the Seed of the woman, the Son 
of man, the Root out of Jesse, the Son of David. This is 
the Son of God and Son of man, God manifest in the flesh, 
the Word of God, the Word made flesh, the Word that was 
in the beginning, the Word that was with God, and the 
Word that was God. This is the Light of the world, the 
bright and Morning-star, the Day-spring from on high, and 
the Sun of righteousness. This is he of whom Moses in the 
law, and the prophets, did Avrite. This is he who opened 
the eyes of the blind, unstopped the ears of the deaf, un- 
loosed the tongue of the dumb, cleansed the leprous, cast out 
devils, raised the dead, and preached the gospel to the poor. 
This is the Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; who 
bore our sins in his own body on the tree; who gave his soul 
an oflering for sin; who died, the just for the unjust; who 
by the grace of God tasted death for every man ; w^ho is the 
propitiation for the sins of the whole world ; who made a 
perfect satisfaction and atonement for sin ; who made it pos- 
sible for God to be just and yet justify the ungodly; who is 
made to us of God wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctifi- 
cation, and redemption ; who was crucified, dead, and buried ; 
who rose from the dead, and by his resurrection was declared 
to be the Son of God with power; who ascended on high 
leading captivity captive, and receiving gifts for men ; who 



THE GREAT QUESTION. 177 

is exalted to be a Prince and a Saviour; who is the great 
and merciful High-j^riest; whose name is the only name 
under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved ; 
to whom is given a name which is above every name, that 
at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, of things in 
heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth ; 
who is King of kings, Lord of lords, the Alpha and the 
Omega, Jhe First and the Last; who is Judge of quick and 
dead, and shall come the second time without sin unto sal- 
vation ; and who must reign until all enemies are put under 
his feet. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Whoso- 
ever believeth on him shall be saved. And as he continu- 
eth ever, and hath an unchangeable priesthood, he is able 
also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by 
him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. 
God was in him, reconciling the world unto himself, not 
imputing their trespasses unto them, and hath committed 
unto embassadors the ministry of reconciliation. His blood 
cleanseth from all sin ; and for this purpose he was mani- 
fested that he might destroy the works of the devil. Salva- 
tion — salvation from sin, from its condemnation, from its 
guilt, from its indwelling, from its being, from its power — 
salvation from death, from the grave, from hell — is only by 
and through him. " Kepent ye, therefore, and believe the 
gospel." "Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish." 
"Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom 
of God." " Without holiness, no man shall see the Lord.'* 
But " if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to for- 
give us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 
And, "Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is 
the day of salvation." 

''What think ye of Christ f" This has been the great 
question ever since he cried, ''It is finished f '' God the Fa- 
ther, who so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten 
12 



178 ELIJAH VINDICATED, 

Son to die for it, has a conteDtion with all who do not be- 
lieve on his name, or render to him a divided service. " He 
that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life ; and he that 
believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of 
God abideth on him." '' Hereby know ye the Spirit of 
God : Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come 
in the flesh is of God; and every spirit that confesseth not 
that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God ; and 
this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that 
it should come; and even now already is it in the world." 
*' He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in 
himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; 
because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. 
And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal 
life, and this life is in his Son." And as to those who are 
neutral, or give to Christ a divided or lukewarm service, 
the Son of God himself hath said: "He that is not with 
me is against me ; and he that gathereth not with me scat- 
tereth abroad." " Thou hast a name that thou livest, and 
art dead. Be watchful, and strengthen the things which 
remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy 
works perfect before God. Kemember therefore how thou 
hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If 
therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a 
thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon 
thee." "I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor 
hot : I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou 
art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee 
out of my mouth." 

Wlmt thinh ye of Christ^ God the Father, wherever 
the story of the cross is told, wherever Christ crucified and 
risen is preached, calls upon all men to answer the ques- 
tion. And wherever the gospel is proclaimed the Holy 
Ghost attends it, convincing the world of sin, of righteous- 



TTIE GREAT QUESTION. 179 

ness, and of judgment. The Holy Ghost has been faithful 
to his mission ; for let God be true though every man be 
found a liar. ^'This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all 
acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sin-' 
ners." What power is there in this saying any more than 
in the saying — if it should be said of either — that Confu- 
cius, Buddha, or Mohammed came into the world to save 
sinners? There is divine truth and divine power in the say- 
ing when it is affirmed of Christ Jesus ; there is neither any 
truth nor any power w'hatever in it when affirmed of any 
other. To the truth and to the power of the saying — 
" Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners " — the Al- 
mighty Father set his seal. For the gospel of Christ is the 
power of God unto salvation; and Christ is the power of 
God, and the wisdom of God. The preaching of Christ cru- 
cified was attended by signs following. Indued with powder 
from on high by the baptism of the Holy Ghost, the apostles 
of Christ with great power bore witness to his resurrection. 
The preaching of the cross changed men's hearts, and trans- 
formed their lives. It brought on earth peace, good-will 
toward men. It proved itself worthy of all acceptation. 
Believed and embraced, millions have testified to the truth 
of the doctrine of him that was crucified. "If any man 
will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it 
be of God, or whether I speak of myself." The predicted 
effects of the preaching of Christ crucified attended it when 
and wherever it was preached. The gospel of the Son of 
God produced conviction in all; and it was a savor of life 
unto life, or of death unto death, to all convicted by it. The 
awakened conscience, the guilty fears, the forced confes- 
sion — "Of a truth this ivas the Son of God'* — even in them 
who did not yield to their convictions ; and the peace, the 
joy in the Holy Ghost, the purity in the heart, the victory 
over self and sin, and the triumph over fears of death and 



180 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 



the grave in all who were persuaded of it, embraced it, and 
acted upon it, alike attested its divinity and demonstrated 
its supernatural power. " We believe, and therefore speak" 
•was its propulsive force in all who experienced it and pro- 
claimed it. And wherever proclaimed, aroused to a sense 
of sin, and alarmed by its convincing, inherent, and su- 
pernatural truth, men either fought against its convictions, 
resisted its persuasions, and sought peace to the guilty con- 
science by plunging still farther into sin — thereby so blunt- 
ing and searing it as to make it past feeling, and to believe 
even a lie — or by delay and procrastination lulled themselves 
into indifference and apathy ; or, yielding to its claims, ex- 
perienced its forgiving, transforming, sin-cleansing, life- 
giving, peace-assuring, hope-inspiring, and love-pervading 
power, and became themselves witnesses for Jesus and the 
resurrection, exponents of its teachings, and proclaimers of 
its efficacy to sanctify and to save. And thus Almighty God, 
by the effects of the gospel of his only-begotten Son, both 
upon them that are saved and upon them that are lost, 
demonstrated its divine truth and saving power. "This is 
my beloved Son: hear ye him/' is the Father's mandate 
from his throne in heaven. The Father who gave his only- 
begotten Son proclaims: Believe on my Son, and be saved; 
believe not and be damned. 'Because he hath appointed a 
day in the which he will judge the world in righteousness, by 
that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assur- 
ance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.'' 
What think ye of Christ^ "For as the Father raiseth up 
the dead, and quickeneth them, even so the Son quickeneth 
whom he will." And, "As the Father hath life in himself, so 
hath he given to the Son to have life in himself.'' Why are 
ye halting, seeing that the Father hath committed all judg- 
ment to the Son, and hath given him authority to execute 
judgment because he is the Son of man? "Marvel not at 



THE GREAT QUESTION: 181 

this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the 
graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth : they that 
have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they thai 
have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation" Why 
halt ye between two opinions? why hesitate, knowing that 
"ive must all appear before the judgment-seat of Christ; that 
eve^'u one may receive the things done in his body, according 
to that he hath done, whether it be good or badf" Will you 
wait until the Lord Jesus is ^'' revealed from heaven ivith his 
mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that 
knoiu not God, and that obey not the gosjyel of our Lord Jesus 
Christ r' Will you wait till the Son of man shall come in 
his glory, and all his holy angels with him? will you delay 
until he shall sit upon the throne of his glory? until before 
him shall be gathered all nations; and he shall separate 
them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep 
from the goats? will you wait until the King shall set the 
sheep on his right-hand, and the goats on his left ? until he 
shall say to thena on his right-hand, ''Come, ye blessed of my 
Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the founda- 
tion of the world r' and until he shall say to them on his 
left, "Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire pre- 
pared for the devil and his angels f" 

What think ye of Christ? whose Son is he? Answer 
these questions, and answer now. How long halt ye be- 
tween two opinions? Choose ye this day whom ye will 
serve. If Christ be the Son of God and the Saviour of 
the world, follow him; if not, then follow the Baal of your 
own choice. But will you hesitate to follow Christ, seeing 
that "the Father hath committed all judgment unto the Son; 
that all men should honor the Son, even as they honor the 
Father?" Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow 
Christ; for "he that honorefh not the Son, honoreih not the 
Father which sent him; and whosoever denieth the Son, the 



182 ELIJAH r INDICATED. 



sar-ie hath not ihe Father'^ How long halt ye? Confess him 
now ; for " ivhosoever shall confess that Jesus is ihe Son of God, 
God dwelleth in him, and he in God." ^'And he that ahld- 
eth ill the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the 
So7i." What think ye of Christ? "Who is a liar, but he 
that denieth that Jesus is the Christ f" Who is "antichrist, 
but he that denieth the Father and the Sonf" How long 
halt ye, seeing that "he u)ho hath seen the Son haih seen the 
Father f^' "No man hath seen God at any time; the only- 
begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath de- 
clared him," Why hesitate, since "all things are delivered 
unto the Son of the Father f" The Son is head over all 
things; he governs the universe; his dominion is from ever- 
lasting to everlasting. And such is his transcendent nat- 
ure ; such the great mystery of the union of the divine 
and the human in him — a union by which God and man 
meet, and in which both are represented — a union without 
•which man's fallen nature could not be renewed and made 
a partaker of the divine — that "7? o man hioweth the Son 
but the Father" What think ye of Christ? Exalted as 
may be the loftiest finite conception of Christ, it is infin- 
itely below the true conception of Emmanuel — God with 
us — "the brightness of his glory, and ihe express image of his 
person." And what think ye of the Father? "Neither 
knoiveth any man the Father, save the Son." Neither angels 
nor archangels, neither cherubim nor seraphim, know the 
Infinite Father; the Son alone knows him. And all that 
any one can know of him is what the Son reveals to him. 
How long, then, halt ye between two opinions? why not 
take Christ, and take him now? why delay, seeing "no 
man hioweth the Father, save the Son, and he to ivhomsoever 
the Son will reveal himJ" "Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, 
and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is hindled but a 
little." Hear this, ye halting : "If any man love not the Lord 



THE GREAT QUESTION. 183 

Jesus Christy let him he Anathema, Mar an ath a.' ' ' ' Know- 
ing, thefi^efore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men;" for 
"it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.'' 
AVherefore, accept Christ, and accept him now ! Halt no 
more! "Behold, noiv is the accepted time; behold, now is 
the day of salvation.'* 

There is a crisis in the life of every one who, having 
heard the gospel, rejects it, or puts off the day of its accept- 
ance. There is a sin which a man dare not commit lest it 
be his last, and fill up the measure of his unbelief and in- 
iquity. There is a limit beyond which delay is fatal, and 
must end in the loss of the soul. Every lost soul sinned 
his last sin and had his last offer — his last chance — of sal- 
vation. The final issue was the same, whatever the degree 
of guilt or measure of punishment, w^hether it arose from 
enmity and rebellion or from neglect and indifference, per- 
severed in to the end of life. All alike missed heaven ; all 
alike went to the only other place beyond the grave — the 
place prepared for the devil and his angels. It makes no 
diffjrence how the crisis comes or when it comes — it comes, 
and no man knows when it will come. If the good man of 
the house had known on what night, and at what hour of 
the night, the thief was coming, he would have watched to 
prevent the spoiling of his goods. And it makes no differ- 
ence whether God permits one to live on after he has filled 
up the measure of his unbelief and iniquity, or cuts him off 
the moment the crisis is past, and hales him before his 
tribunal. The results are the same. The man is lost, and 
he is lost forever. The harvest is past, the summer is end- 
ed, and he is not saved. 

Sure we are that somewhere and in some way God calls 
the atheist, the infidel, the rebellious, the incorrigible, and 
the halting to make a final decision ; and sure we are that 
that decision, if it be against God and his Son, is ratified 



184 ELIJAH VINDICATED, 

in heaven — -judgment is entered up, and the sentence is irre- 
versible. ''Ephraim is joined to idols; let him alone." 
" If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, 
the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are 
hid from thine eyes." " O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that 
killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto 
theo, how often would I have gathered thy children together, 
even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and 
ye would not. Behold, your house is left unto you deso- 
late." There is a limit to the forbearance of Almighty 
God ; there is a somewhere when even the vine-dresser will 
say of the barren fig-tree spared by his intercessions, on 
which he long waited, and which he faithfully tried to make 
fruitful, " Cut it down!" God's forbearance leadeth to re- 
pentance — that is, such is his gracious design. But what 
if his goodness and long-suffering are made the occasion for 
farther sin or further procrastination? Are not such treas- 
uring up to themselves wrath against the day of wrath and 
revelation of the righteous judgment of God? Has not 
God declared that his Spirit shall not always strive with 
man? What mean these solemn warnings: "Grieve not 
the Holy Spirit of God," and "Quench not the Spirit?" 
and is not the following more solemn still : " But they re- 
belled, and vexed his Holy Spirit; therefore he has turned 
to be their enemy, and he fought against them ? " The Holy 
Spirit, instead of being a friend, a guide, a guard, an ally, 
a helper, is turned into an enemy, standing armed in the 
v/ay, and fighting against us, like cherubim with flaming 
sword guarding the entrance to the tree of life. What 
means the answ^er of the bridegroom from within, "Verily 
I say unto you, I know you not?" v/hat mean the words, 
"And the door was shut?" and these, "None of those men 
which were bidden shall taste of my supper?" and these, 
" So I swore in my wrath. They shall not enter into ray 



THE GREAT QUESTION. 185 

rest ? " aud these, " Then shall they call upon me, but I 
will not answer; they shall seek me early, but shall not 
find me; for that they hated knowledge, and did not choose 
the fear of the Lord?" What difference does it make, as 
to final destiny, if one has quenched the Spirit forever, 
whether God ends probation by cutting it short in death, or 
by permitting the sentenced to live longer upon the earth? 
In either case probation is ended, and the chance for salva- 
tion clean gone forever. 

What think ye of Christ? How long halt ye between 
two opinions? Ye fools, who say in your hearts, "There is 
no God;" ye infidel Baalites of this day; ye who deny the 
divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ, or refuse to have him 
to reign over you — I do not care by what name men call 
you, or by what name you call yourselves — I do not ask 
you, How long halt ye between two opinions ? For this ques- 
tion, I again remind you, was not put by Elijah to the priests 
of Baal on Carmel, but to halting Israel. But I do say to you, 
The God that answereth by fire is the only true God, and 
Jesus Christ, his only-begotten Son, is the only name under 
heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. To 
you I say, " God out of Christ is a consuming fire." And 
ye incorrigibly wicked, know that for your sins God will 
bring you into judgment. When ye sinned, because God 
kept silence, ye thought he was altogether such a one as 
yourselves; but he will reprove you, and set all your sins 
in order before your eyes. And ye halting, hesitating, 
lukewarm, arouse from indifference and inaction! How 
long halt ye between two opinions? if the Lord be God, 
serve him ; if Jesus Christ be the only-begotten Son of God, 
follow him. For God who confounded the Baalites on Car- 
mel, when he answered by fire, will utterly destroy the 
Baalites of this day, and their works, and all who are se^ 
duced by them, unless they repent and believe the gospel. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

THE CONTEST. 

ELIJAH'S challenge is accepted ; the contest opens be- 
tween Jehovah and Baal, between the jorophet of the 
Lord God of Israel and the priests of the Zidonian sun- 
god. Humanly speaking, the odds seem to be against the 
Tishbite. For he, even he onl}^ remains a prophet of the 
Lord, All the others have been slain by Jezebel ; if any 
survive, they are hid away in a cave where Obadiah con- 
cealed them. If Obadiah is on Carmel, he and Elijah's 
servant are the only ones present on whom the prophet can 
knowingly rely. On the other side are Ahab, the officers 
of State, the royal guard, th^ fawning courtiers, the four 
hundred and fifty priests of Baal in their splendid vest- 
ments, and the apostate, the idolatrous, or the halting thou- 
sands of the children of Israel. The test which Elijah has 
proposed is a bold one. It is an appeal by fire: " J?ie God 
that ansioereth by fire, let him be God," So reads the chal- 
lenge, and so it is accepted. Wherefore, if Baal be God, 
the advantage is with him and his priests. If Baal be the 
sun-god, the test is by the vfery element over which he pre- 
sides. And what more auspicious time for such a contest? 
For three years and a half an unclouded sun, without in- 
termission, has held undisputed sway over all the regions 
of Samaria. Carmel's top has been withered by his fiery 
rays ; his scorching heat has dried up its wood and exhaled 
its moisture. If Baal had a chance to answer by fire, he 
had it then; a more propitious moment could not have 
been chosen. No wonder the people, in response to the 
(186) 



THE CONTEST. 187 



Tislibite's challenge, cried, "It is well spoken/" and no won- 
der the priests of Baal saw no way to evade it. The issue 
was upon them; decline it, and their pretensions are ex- 
posed, and their priestly influence gone. They might hope 
by some magic, by sleight-of-hand, by practiced skill in the 
use of pyrotechnics, to deceive the simple and the unsus- 
pecting. But suppose they had no hope of success through 
any tricks of legerdemain ; suppose there was no chance, 
with concealed combustibles cunningly handled, to kindle 
afire by artificial means; and suppose the Tishbite's con- 
ditions of the contest effectually provided against deception 
and fraud — there was still that which encouraged them to 
abide the trial. AVhat if they failed to call down the fire 
from heaven which was to consume the sacrifice? They 
believed that Elijah also would fail. And if Elijah failed, 
the victory — even though they themselves should be unsuc- 
cessful — would be practically with them. For was not the 
j)rophet the challenger? Want of success on his part would 
bo fatal; and even if they succeeded not, his failure would 
be the ruin of himself and cause, and a signal triumph to 
them. When the trial was over, and neither party suc- 
ceeded, their priestly cunning would be sure to say that 
they had claimed for themselves and their god no such 
power; that the contest v/as forced upon them against their 
will by the clamors of the people; and that they had con- 
sented to it, knowing that the prophet would fail, and that 
the result would silence his bold pretensions, and prove that 
he had undertaken what he could not perform. 

But the prophet of Israel's God knows that he cannot 
fail. He knows in whose name and by whose authority 
he made the challenge; he knows that all power is his in 
heaven and on the earth. The Creator of the sun, the great 
luminary of day and prime source of heat, is Elijah's God. 
Wherefore, the prophet, though alone, is undaunted in the 



^^^ ELIJAH VINDICATED. 



presence of the king and court, the priests of Baal and the 
thousands of idolatrous Israel; for he is Jehovah's embas- 
sador and representative, and speaks and acts by his com- 
nuinds. Besides, too, the contest is Jehovah's, and not Eli- 
jah s; and Jehovah has given to his servant the pledge 
that he will do according to his servant's word. Hence 
toe prophet stands on Carmel placid and serene in all the 
conscious majesty of truth, but firm as the rocks and bold as 
the eagles of his native mountains. Assured of success, he 
awaits the preparation and issue. 

The bullocks for the altar have been brought, and are. 
awaiting the sacrificial knife. '^And Elijah said unto the 
Vrophets of Baal, Choose you one bullock for yourselves, and 
dress It first; for ye are many; ami call on the name of your 
gods, hut put no fire under r The choice of bullocks made 
the priests proceed, according to the rites of their sun-god' 
to prepare for the sacrifice. What kind of altar they made 
ready for themselves the record does not say. But the vic- 
tim IS slain and dressed and placed upon the wood. And 
when all things are ready for the invocation, they begin to 
call upon their god. Cries of - O Baal, hear us!'^ or " O 
Baal, answer us!" proceed from four hundred and fifty 
priestly throats. The multitudes look on in eager expect- 
ancy or doubt, as belief or unbelief in Baal and his priests 
sways the assembly. Old Carmel's grottoes echo to the 
loud and repeated invocations, but no voice of the sun-god 
IS heard in response. It was morning when the sacrifice 
was ready and the invocations began. Thev have been 
kept up unceasingly until it is noon; ^^but there was no 
voice, nor any that answered." And when the sun was at 
his zenith, and shot his rays vertically down, they leaped 
upon their altar. All the while Elijah was a silent and 
quiet observer of the scene before him. But when high 
noon appeared, and the sun's rays were directest and hot- 



THE CONTEST. 189 

test; when in their eagerness the priests of Baal, as the 
margin reads, leaped up and down at the altar, the prophet 
of God could keep silence no longer. '^And it came to pass 
at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud; for 
he is a god ; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is on 
a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked" 
The Tishbite's keen irony goads them to frenzy. They 
raise their voices to the loudest pitch. They " cut themselves, 
after their manner, with knives and lancets, till the Mood 
gushed out upon them,'' mingling their own blood with the 
blood of the slain victim, in the hope that their god would 
be propitious. But midday is past ; and they kept up their 
invocations ^^ until the time of the offering of the evening sac- 
rifice ; " but " there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor 
any that regarded." Baal's priests have failed; there is no 
answer by fire, or answer of any kind to their prolonged 
and impassioned aj^peals to the sun-god. Elijah's turn 
comes next. If he succeeds, the priests of Baal are discom- 
fited and disgraced in the audience of the people. 

AVhen the time of the ofiTering of the evening sacrifice is 
come — three hours after the sun passed his meridian — the 
prophet of the Lord God of Israel makes ready for his sac- 
rifice. "And Elijah said unto all the people, Come near unto 
me." This is asked that they may the better see all that 
he is about to do — rather, the desire that they should be 
near him is the drawing of a heart full of tenderness and 
love for the misguided people whom he is yearning to win 
back to their allegiance to Israel's God. "And all the peo- 
ple came near unto him." They draw near the prophet, 
some because their hearts are already drawn to him, some 
through fear, some through curiosity, but all with intense 
interest in the final issue of the contest. 

The test which the prophet has chosen is not an unheard- 
of thing in Israel. The Israelites on Carmel have not so 



190 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

forgotten the dealings of Jehovah with their fathers and 
with others as not to recall his marvelous interpositions by 
fire. Nor are the impressions and convictions which such 
interpositions made upon themselves so effaced by their sin- 
ful deeds and idolatrous practices as not to awaken in many 
the profoundest awe. For the Lord God, who often an- 
swered by fire in the past, is about to be invoked by his 
prophet Elijah to answer in the same manner on Carmel. 
Had he not, at that prophet's word, so shut up the heavens 
for three years and six months that neither dew nor rain 
bad fallen in all Samaria? And was not this known to all 
the people assembled on the mount? Will not the Lord 
God now answer the prophet's word, and send the fire? 
The remembrance that fire had been the instrument of Je- 
hovah's most signal judgments upon the wicked, as well as 
the manifestations of his most signal interpositions in be- 
half of the righteous, fills them with fearful apprehensions, 
lest an offended God now send it upon them as a punish- 
ment for their wicked rebellions and abominable idolatries. 
The pious Hebrew believed that when Abel offered upon 
the altar the slain victim for his sins God showed his ac- 
ceptance of the penitential offering by fire from heaven 
which consumed the sacrifice. A smoking furnace and a 
burning lamp passed between the pieces of Abraham's sac- 
rifice what time the patriarch asked whereby he might 
know that he should inherit the land the Lord God prom- 
ised to him and his seed. A flame of fire out of the midst 
of a bush appeared to Moses in Midian when Jehovah called 
him to deliver his Hebrew brethren out of their bondage 
in Goshen. "There came a fire out from before the Lord, 
and consumed upon the altar the burnt-offering and the 
fat," when Moses and Aaron dedicated the tabernacle of 
the congregation. A pillar of fire from evening till morn- 
ing rested upon the tabernacle during all the journey in 



THE CONTEST. 191 



the wilderness. The Lord descended upon Sinai in fire 
when Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to 
meet with God. The angel of the Lord ascended in the 
flame of the altar at the time the Lord confirmed to Ma- 
noah and his wife the promise of a son. And at the dedi- 
cation of the temple on Mount Zion, when Solomon made 
an end of praying, fire came down from heaven and con- 
sumed the Journt-offering and the sacrifices. The Lord God 
successively witnessed to altar, tabernacle, and temple with 
fire from himself out of heaven. Nor less signally were his 
judgments attended by fire. Fire from the Lord out of heav- 
en consumed Sodom and Gomorrah, wicked cities of the plain, 
in the days of Abraham. The fire of God fell upon the thiev- 
ing Achan in the valley of Achor. Fire from heaven de- 
voured Aaron's sons, Nadab and Abihu, who oflered strange 
fire before the Lord. And there came out a fire from the 
Lord and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that 
offered incense in the rebellion of Korah. These miracu- 
lous interpositions by fire in blessings on the obedient or 
in judgments on the rebellious are known to the people who, 
at his bidding, draw near to Elijah. When, then, the proph- 
et, who withheld the dew and the rain, appealed to the Lord 
God of their fathers to answer by fire, the most idolatrous 
and the most presumptuous Israelite on Carmel, whatever 
his seeming indifference, must have owned to secret misgiv* 
ings and foreboding fears. 

The first act of Elijah is to prepare an altar. Upon the 
mount there is an altar of Jehovah that is broken down. This 
altar, consecrated by past sacrifices to the God of Israel, the 
prophet selects and proceeds to repair. "And Elijah took 
tiuelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the son^i 
of Jacob, unto whom the word of the Lord came, saying, Is- 
rael shall be thy name.'' With these twelve stones here builda 
the altar in the name of the Lord. The twelve tribes ar^ 



192 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

now divided into two separate and rival kingdoms — the 
kingdom of Judali and Benjamin and the kingdom of Is- 
riiel. The prophet belongs to the latter, and he stands in 
the presence of its king and people. But the Tishbite is 
more than a subject of the Israelitish king; he is a son of 
Jacob, and a joint-heir to the promises made to him and to 
his seed after him. He knows that these promises belong 
to all the sons of Jacob, and that therefore they are Judah's 
and Benjamin's equally with those whose descendants com- 
pose the kingdom of Israel. His Hebrew heart is pained 
by the causes which dismembered the kingdom of David; 
but his prophetic ken sees the good time coming when Shi- 
loh, gathering all the children of Jacob in one, shall sit 
upon the reunited and undivided throne of his father Da- 
vid. Wherefore, in token of such reunion, and of the final 
triumph of Messias, he builds his altar with twelve stones, 
equaling the number of the sons of Jacob, of the twelve 
apocalyptic thrones in heaven, and the number of the gates 
in the holy Jerusalem that is to descend out of heaven from 
God. 

The prophet next " made a tre7ieh about the altar, as great 
as would hold two measures of seed. And he pid the wood in 
order, and cid the bulloek in pieces, and laid him on the wood, 
and said. Fill four barrels with ivater, and pour it on the 
burnt sacrifice, and on the ivood. And he said. Do it the sec- 
ond time; and they did it the second time. And he said. Do 
it the third time; and they did it the third time. And the 
water ran round about the altar; and he filled the trench 
also with ivater.''^ With what deliberation and particularity 
the prophet prepares the altar! There is no haste; all 
things are done according to the command of his God. 
And how carefully he guards against every charge of de- 
ception and fraud! In the presence of all, the water is 
poured on abundantly, filling the trench, so that no man 



THE CONTEST. 193 



may say, when the fire comes and consumes the sacrifice, 
that the prophet resorted to any trick. For no fire can come 
from beneath an altar thus prepared. If fire comes and 
consumes the offering, it must come from above; it must be 
no fire of earth or from earth ; it must come down from 
God out of heaven. 

All things are ready. The hour has come when Elijah 
must prove that the Lord God of Israel is God alone, and 
that he is his prophet. The sun is fast descending to his 
nightly bath in the waters of the Mediterranean ; and no 
help can Elijah have from his direct rays. While the 
priests of Baal were making their trial the sun was at his 
zenith ; their altar was exposed to his vertical beams, nor 
had any water been poured upon it or about it. Its mate- 
rials were as dry as more than three years' absence of dew 
and rain could dry them; as parched as a fervid sun of 
equal duration could parch them. But Elijah essays the 
trial by fire with sacrifice and wood, and altar and all its 
surroundings, as wet as four barrels of water three times 
poured on can wet them. At the time of the oflfering of 
the evening sacrifice, Elijah, with bared head, with uplifted 
hands, and in reverential awe, prays to the Lord God of 
Israel. Brief and simple is the prayer he oflfers. The 
calm dignity, the devout attitude, and the pleading tones 
of the prophet of God are in strange contrast with the hur- 
ried pomp, the ostentatious parade, the frenzied manner, 
and the vociferous cries of the priests of Baal. "Lord God 
of Ahrahmiiy of Isaac, and of Israel,^' thus Elijah prays, 
"let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and 
that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these tilings 
at thy word'' And then, raising his voice in earnest suppli- 
cation for the deluded people before him, he entreats: "Hear 
me, Lord, hear me; that this people may know that thou 
art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their heart back 
13 



194 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

< 
again.'' Such is the Tishbite's prayer! No sooner is it 

offered than it is heard in lieaven by heaven's Eternal King; 
and no sooner is it heard than it is answered. Quicker than 
the winged thunderbolt leaps from the storm-cloud over- 
charged with electricity, vertically down the fire from the 
Lord fell upon Elijah's altar. In the same moment it " con- 
sumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and 
the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench." 
The God that answereth by fire answers the call of his 
prophet on Carmel. The people see it and fall on their 
faces, subdued by the presence and power of Elijah's God.. 
In dumb amazement and silent aw-e they remain prostrate 
where they have fallen. And then simultaneously as one 
man they spring to their feet and rend the heavens with 
the shout, " The Lord, he is the God ! the Lord, he is 
the God!" Angel and archangel, cherubim and seraphim 
around the throne catch up the sounds from earth, and 
heaven's eternal arches ring w^ith the same triumphant burst. 
"The Lord, he is the God! the Lord, he is the God!" 
resounds on earth and in heaven, and " shakes the trem- 
bling gates of hell." Ahab and his idolatrous court and 
his foreign parasites, and the four hundred and fifty priests 
of Baal, are silenced and discomfited. For the Lord, he 
is the God; and Elijah the Tishbite is his prophet. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

THE ANSWER BY FIRE. 

THE Carmel of the Old Testament suggests the Calvary 
of- the New; and Elijah's sacrifice, the sacrifice of 
Christ. Whatever may have been the origin of sacrifice, 
it is probable that it was penal, expiatory, and vicarious 
from the day "Abel offered unto God a more excellent sac- 
rifice than Cain." But however this may be — into the con- 
troversy we will not enter — such was its manifest character 
in the Mosaic ritual. Leviticus, interpreted by the Epistle 
to the Hebrews, makes this so plain that no one will ques- 
tion it, unless that expository epistle is excluded from the 
Sacred Canon. Abel's offering and the sin-offering of the 
law were types of Christ — the Lamb of God, "slain from 
the foundation of the world." The types were fulfilled 
"through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for 
all," Avho " bore the sins of many" by his "one sacrifice for 
sin forever." Hence " there is no more oflTering for sin." 
Once for all, Jesus Christ, by the grace of God, tasted death 
for every man; once for all, he "was delivered for our of- 
fenses, and was raised again for our justification;" once for 
all, he opened a fountain "to the house of David, and to 
the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and uncleanness." 
He suffered "death upon the cross for our redemption;" 
and he "made there, by his oblation of himself once ofiTered, 
a full, perfect, and sufificient sacrifice, oblation, and satis- 
faction for the sins of the whole world." He was himself 
both priest and victim. He was "holy, harmless, undefiled, 
separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens." 

(105) 



196 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

Continuing ever, and having " an unchangeable priesthood," 
" he ever liveth to make intercession for us." He was the 
spotless Lamb of God who, by his own blood, " entered in 
once into the holy place," and obtained for us eternal re- 
demption. " For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and 
the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to 
the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood 
of Christ, who, through the Eternal Spirit, offered himself 
without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead 
works to serve the living God ? " " Declared to be the 
Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, 
by his resurrection from the dead," his sacrifice has been 
accepted. And as God answered Elijah's sacrifice on Car- 
mel by fire, by fire also he answered the sacrifice of his 
only-begotten Son on Calvary. 

When the voice of the Baptist, who came to prepare the 
way of the Lord and to make his paths straight, was heard 
in the wilderness, saying, '^Repent ye, for the kingdom of 
heaven is at hand" he said to the multitudes that flocked 
to his baptism, "I indeed baptize you with water unto repent- 
ance, hut he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose 
shoes I am not worthy to bear : he shall baptize you with the 
Holy Ghost, and with fire^ Does the Baptist speak of two 
baptisms, or of one and the same? Is the baptism of fire dis- 
tinct from that of the Holy Gho^t? There is no doubt about 
whom he speaks; he speaks of Christ, the promised Mes- 
sias. And there is no question that, by the baptism of the 
Holy Ghost, he means specifically the converting, renew- 
ing, purifying, and sanctifying power of the Spirit, given 
to all who trust in and look to Christ alone, as the Lamb of 
God which taketh away the sin of the world, for pardon 
and holiness and heaven. Is the "baptism of fire" the 
same as this? is it a part of the self-same thing? or is it 
something different? Is not the baptism of the Holy Ghost, 



THE ANSIVEE BY FIRE. 197 

to which the Baptist alludes, a blessing, and only a blessing? 
and is not the " baptism of fire" a curse, and only a curse? 
is not the one a reward, and the other a punishment? is not 
the first salvation from sin and death and hell ? and is not 
the second condemnation, and the loss of the soul forever ? 
is not this " baptism of fire " the " fiery indignation," the 
"consuming fire" that shall utterly destroy all who reject 
the Lamb of God, and his only sacrifice for sin? 

We are aware of the different interpretations put upon 
this "baptism of fire" by the early fathers of the Church, 
and by others since their day. These interpretations may 
be reduced to three : first, a baptism of suffering and per- 
secution; second, of punishment and judgment; third, oi 
spiritual cleansing and power — fire being the appropriate 
symbol of each. No^w as the last of these is fully embraced 
in the baptism of the Holy Ghost, the inference seems clear 
that by the "baptism of fire" something else is meant. 
For the saying of the Baptist is modified and explained by 
his preceding words : "Now also the ax is laid unto the root 
of the trees; therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good 
fruit is hewn doivn, and cast into the fire ;^^ and by his added 
words, " Wliose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly 
purge his floor, and gather his luheat into the garner; but he 
will hum up the chaff with unquenchable fire." Both bap- 
tisms were needed to " thoroughly purge his floor." By 
the one — the baptism of the Holy Ghost — the wheat is 
gathered into the garner ; by the other — the " baptism of 
fire" — the chaff, like the unfruitful tree felled by the ax, 
is burned up with fire unquenchable. The one is remedial; 
the other is punitive. The one saves; the other destroys. 
And both baptisms accompany the ministry of Him who was 
mightier far than the Baptist; and by the sanctions of both 
is that ministry enforced. For all power is Christ's in heav- 
en and on the earth. He can reward, and he can punish ; 



198 ELIJAH VINDICATED, 



he can save, and he can destroy. His gospel is the savor 
of life unto life, or of death unto death. It is the power 
of God unto salvation to them that believe; to the unbe- 
liever it is eternal death. While the baptism of the Holy 
Ghost renews, purifies, sanctifies the believer in Jesus, and 
fits him for the inheritance of the saints in light, the "bap- 
tism of fire" is the unquenchable fire prepared for the devil 
and his angels, that shall forever eat the flesh of the finally 
wicked in the bottomless pit. 

In confirmation of the meaning we have ascribed to the 
" baptism of fire " foretold by the Baptist, we remind the 
reader that while Matthew and Luke read, ^^He shall bap- 
tize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire/' Mark and John 
omit the latter clause. Nor is this all. Matthew and Luke, 
as we have seen, qualify and expound what they say by the 
preceding words : "And now also the ax is laid unto the root 
of the trees; therefore every tree luhich hringeth not forth good 
fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire; " and by the added 
words, " Whose fan is in his hand, and he luill thoroughly 
purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he 
will hum up the chaff with unquenchable fire.''' 

These sayings, a very slight transposition of one or two 
words excepted, both in the original Greek and in our ver- 
sion, are identically the same in Matthew and Luke, but 
omitted altogether in Mark and John. Why do the two 
latter omit the " baptism of fire," and the burning up of 
the unfruitful tree and the cliafi" with fire unquenchable? 
Is it not because Mark and John confine themselves to the 
Sj^iritual effects of the baptism of the Holy Ghost that fol- 
low the death, resurrection, and ascension of the Lamb of 
God which taketh away the sin of the world, while Mat- 
thew and Luke speak not only of them, but of the baptism 
of punishment and wrath, which he shall send upon all who 
reject his only sacrifice for sin? 



. THE AXSWER BY FIFE. 199 

And does it not throw light upon our interpretation that 
St. Luke, iu the Acts of the Apostles — the same who, with 
St. Matthew, makes the Baptist speak of the baptism of 
fire — represents our blessed Lord, when about to ascend up 
into heaven, as saying, "For John truly bajotized you with 
water, but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many 
days hencci'' is not our Lord's .omission of the words "and 
with fire_" significant? "Tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem 
until ye be indued ivith power from on higli,^' was the 
command. "But ye shall receive j^ower, after that the Holy 
Ghost" — not the Holy Ghost and fire — " is come ujjon you,'* 
was the promise of its fulfillment. Not a word, either in 
the connnand or in the words which tell in what the power 
from on high M'as to consist, about a "baptism of fire," that 
was to qualify them to be his witnesses in Jerusalem, in all 
Judea, in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. 

But was not the baptism of the Holy Ghost on Pentecost 
a "baptism of fire?" Before we answer, let us have the 
brief and only record before us. Here is all that is said : 
"And when the day of Pentecost was fidly come, they were all 
with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a 
sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty ivind, and it filled 
all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared 
unto them cloven tongues, like as of fire, and it sat upon each 
of them; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and 
began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them 
idteranceJ* The above is the whole record. Neither in it 
nor elsewhere is there a single word about a "baptism of 
fire." There was a baptism of the Holy Ghost, and there 
were tongues "like as of fire" — tongues resembling, having 
the appearance of, in the form of, fire. The phrase "tongue 
of fire" occui-s but once in all the Scriptures. In Isaiah it 
is said, "Therefore as the fire'' — Hebrew, "tongue of fire** 
— " devour eth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff** 



200 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

etc. There it is a bold and striking metaphor. The long, 
pointed flame is not inaptly called a " tongue of fire." It 
was real fire in the shape of a tongue. As " the tongue 
of fire" devoureth the stubble, and its flame consumeth 
the chaff", so shall the "root" of the oppressor and lovers of 
strong drink, and of those who draw iniquity with cords 
of vanity, sin as it were with a cart rope, and call evil 
good and good evil, " be as rottenness, and their blossom 
shall go up as dust." So the "baptism of fire" foretold by 
the Baptist burns up with unquenchable flame the unfruitful 
tree and the chaff* — the generation of vipers, the extortion- 
ate publicans, and the rapacious soldiers. And it is not a 
little remarkable that both Mark and John, who omit the 
" baptism of fire " from the Baptist's prophecy, omit also 
his terrible denunciations of the wicked Pharisees, Saddu- 
cees, publicans, and soldiers who came to his baptism. 

On Pentecost there w^as no more fire than wind. There 
was a sound, but it was not the sound of wind. There was 
a loud noise, and it was like the noise of a rushing mighty 
wind ; but there was no tempest. And it came not as the 
wind comes, for it came from heaven vertically down. Nei- 
ther was there any shaking of the house in which the 
apostles were sitting such as is produced by a great wind. 
"But 'from heaven' directly downward," says Mr. Will- 
iam Arthur, the eloquent author of the " Tongue of Fire," 
" fell a sound, without shape, or step, or movement to ac- 
count for it — a sound as if a mighty wind were rushing, 
not along the ground, but straight from on high, like show- 
ers in a dead calm. Yet no wind stirred. As to motion, 
the air of the room was still as death ; as to sound, it was 
awful as a hurricane." Beyond the sound, there was per- 
fect stillness in that upper chamber; there was no rustling 
of any thing within or without. The noise without the 
wind, the stillness amid the noise, made the whole the more 



THE ANSWER BY FIHE. 201 

phenomenal, the more supernatural and miraculous. And 
as there was no wind, though the sound which filled the 
house was as of a rushing mighty wind, so there was no 
fire, though cloven tongues appeared "like as of fire" — not 
tongues of fire, as in Isaiah, but tongues having the ap- 
pearance of fire. What the sound was, what the appear- 
ance was, no inspired man, above Avhat is said in the record, 
has told us. The apostles and the evangelist who records 
the phenomenon could only tell it as it seemed to them. 
They heard the sound, they saw the cloven tongues, and 
they have told us to what they were likened. The sound 
was like the sound of Avind; the cloven tongues were like 
fire. The wind and the fire they employ as symbols, as 
figures of speech. This was all they could say, and it was 
all they did say. But whatever happened to the apostles 
on Pentecost, there was a baptism of the Holy Ghost. It 
indued with power from on high. It acted like fire — it 
burned up the dross; it refined the gold. It cleansed the 
heart; it purified the affections; it sanctified soul, body, 
iind spirit; it enlightened the understanding; it quickened 
the conscience; it strengthened memory; it kindled cour- 
age; it increased faith; it brightened hope. It perfected 
love to God and man ; it assimilated the whole man to God ; 
it consecrated him to his service. It imparted the gift of 
tongues; and it gave to speech supernatural power to con- 
vince and to confound,^ to comfort and to save. 

We have given, as we think, the true explanation of 
that bai)tism of fire about which the Baptist spoke; and 
yet the baptism of the Spirit on Pentecost has not inappro- 
priately been called *' the baptism of fire," and the clo- 
ven tongues "tongues of fire." And this is said though the 
tongues were said to be not "tongues of fire," but "tongues 
like as of fire" — y/.axTrrat 6)az\ -upu:; — and though, strictly 
speaking, neither" baptisms of fire " nor " tongues of fire " are 



202 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

scriptural terms. And yet the symbol, as applied both to 
the baptism of the Spirit and to the cloven tongues, is quite 
appropriate, because fire is a symbol of the illuminating, 
cleansing, and refining power of the one, and of the con- 
vincing, burning, eloquent speech of the other, as well as 
of punishment and wrath. In its cleansing and refining 
sense we are to take "the baptism of fire" on Pentecost, 
the answer which God gave to the sacrifice of his only-be- 
gotten Son on Calvary, "the tongues of fire" denoting the 
supernatural eloquence and special gift of those indued 
with power from on high by the baptism of the Holy Ghost, 
and the cloven tongues signifying the universal diffiision 
of the gospel of the Son of God, and its adaptation to all 
men. And as Carmel's sacrifice was far less important 
than Calvary's, so its answer by fire was far less important 
than the answer by fire which followed the death and res- 
urrection and ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ. The 
Lord God of Israel, who answered by fire and confounded 
the Baalites on Carmel, proving that he alone was God, 
and that Elijah was his prophet, confounded every kind of 
Baalism on Pentecost, demonstrating by " the baptism of 
fire" and by the cloven "tongues of fire" that Christ is 
the only-begotten Son, the brightness of the Father's glory, 
the express image of his substance, and therefore very and 
eternal God. The Holy Ghost, proceeding from the Father 
and the Son, and sent on Pentecost according to the promise 
of both, forever declared that the same Jesus which was 
crucified is both Lord and Christ. " The tongues of fire" 
which were then given, proclaiming to all, "Repent, and 
be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, 
for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of 
the Holy Ghost," burned into the heart and conscience the 
conviction that Christ crucified, risen from the dead, and 
ascended up into heaven is the Saviour of all men, and the 



THE ANSWER BY FIHE. 203 

only name under heaven given among men whereby we 
must be saved. And as he that auswereth by fire is God, 
Jesus Christ, who answered by the "baptism of fire" and 
the cloven ''tongues of fire" on Pentecost, and who will 
answer with fire unquenchable when he comes to judge the 
Avorld and punish the wicked, is God equally with the 
Father. Pentecost proclaimed to angels and men, to heav- 
en and earth, "He is the God! he is the God!'' Where- 
fore, believe on the Son of God, and be saved ; believe not, 
and be damned. Refuse not, turn not away from him that 
speaketh from heaven: ''For our God is a consuming fire'' 
— a fire purifying and saving the believer by burning up 
all his dross, but a fire preying on and destroying the un- 
believer with eternal flame. 

Wherefore, the answer by fire on Carmel suggests the 
coming of Christ in flaming fire to judge the world. ''For 
the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with 
the voice of the archajigel, and ivith the trump of God." 
*' The Lord Jesiis shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty 
angels, in flaming fire talcing vengeance on them thai hioio 
not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus 
Christ." "Behold the Lord cometh ivith ten thousands of 
his saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all 
that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which 
they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches 
which ungodly sinners have spoken against him." It sug- 
gests also the final conflagration — the day of the Lord, in 
which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and 
the elements shall melt with fervent heat; when the earth 
also, and the works that are therein, shall be burned up. 
And it suggests the final triumph of Christ over all his en- 
emies — when Satan and every worshiper of Baal shall be 
cast into the lake of fire and brimstone. The God who 
answered by fire on Carmel will answer by the judgment 



204 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

of eternal fires. And as old Carmel, when God answered 
Elijah by fire, echoed to the shout, "-He is the God! he is 
the God/" even so Lord Jesus, come quickly, and hasten, 
O hasten, the day when all in heaven, on earth, and under 
the earth, shall shout, willingly or unwillingly, "Alleluia; 
for the Lord God omnipotent reignethl" and, amid light- 
nings and thunderings and voices, crown thee "King of 
KINGS AND Lord of lords." 

And now, O blessed Lord Jesus ! help" again to press the 
question Elijah put to assembled Israel on Carmel, and at- 
tend it in demonstration of the Spirit and of power. "How- 
long halt ye between two opinions f if the Lord he God, fol- 
low him; but if Baal, then follow him" Is not he that an- 
swereth by fire God? Why, then, hesitate between Baal 
and Christ? Keader, how is it with you? are you still 
halting? if you have not decided, if you are still hesitating 
between God and Baal, between Christ and Mammon, it 
may now be the crisis with you. It may be the time w^lien 
God calls you to make a final decision. This moment may 
be the hinge on which turns your destiny for weal or woe, 
for the joys of heaven or the fires of hell. Decide for God 
and Christ, and heaven will be yours — forever yours ; de- 
cide for Mammon and the world, and hell may be your 
everlasting portion. 

It was a crisis with Felix and Drusilla when St. Paul 
reasoned before them of righteousness, temperance, and a 
judgment to come. The precious opportunity was lost to 
Felix forever ; a convenient season never came. It is true 
that afterward he sent for Paul, but it was to hear no more 
about the faith in Christ. "He hoped also that money 
should have been given him of Paul, that he might loose 
him ; wherefore he sent for him the oftener and communed 
with him." And what became of Drusilla, the Jewish 
princess, and the lawful wife of Azizus, King of Emesa, 



THE ANSWER BY FIRE, 205 

■who had apostatized from the religion of her fathers, and 
left the chaste marriage-bed of her wedded husband, to be- 
come the paramour of a profligate man, a corrupt judge, 
and a debauched heathen ruler? Drusilla and her son, the 
child of her and Felix's guilt, perished in an eruption of 
Vesuvius, whose flames of burning lava were no mean rep- 
resentation of those judgment-fires so graphically depicted 
by the apostle when he reasoned before her and her com- 
panion in sin of righteousness, temperance, and a coming 
judgment. It was a crisis with King Herod Agrippa when 
St. Paul proved by the prophets and by his own miracu- 
lous conversion that Jesus was the Christ. The crisis 
passed; though almost persuaded, Agrippa was lost, and, 
when too late, bewailed : 

" ^Almost persuaded,^ harvest is past ! 
'Aiinost persuaded,' doom comes at last ! 
^Almost' cannot avail; 
'Almost ' is but to fail ! 
Sad, sad, that bitter wail: 
'Almost,^ but lost/" 

And it was a crisis with the young man in the Gospel who 
came to Christ, saying: " Good Master, what shall I do that 
1 may inherit eternal life? " " Go thy way," was the reply, 
" sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou 
shalt have treasure in heaven ; and come, take up the cross, 
and follow me." The opportunity was lost! " He was sad 
at that saying, and went away grieved ; for he had great 
possessions." He gave up God for Mammon, Christ for 
the world, an apostleship and the crown of life for the 
wages of sin — eternal death. The close of his life on earth 
was well portrayed by the fate of the rich man, whose 
grounds brought forth so plentifully that he determined to 
pull down his old barns and build greater. The very mo- 
ment he congratulated himself that at last he had enough, 



206 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

it was said to him : " Thou fool ! this night thy soul shall 
be required of thee; then whose shall those things be, which 
thou hast provided ? " Fitting end to one whose whole por- 
tion was in this world ! And his future in the world be- 
yond the grave was well depicted by that of the rich man, 
clothed in purple and fine linen, and faring sumptuously 
every day, to whom, when he cried, "Father Abraham, 
have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the 
tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue, for I am 
tormented in this flame," it was answered : " Son, remember 
that thou in thy life-time receivedst thy good things, and 
likewise Lazarus evil things ; but now he is comforted, and 
thou art tormented." Such is the sure and sad doom of 
all who let the crisis pass and are lost. 

Look on that picture, and then on this: "Now as he 
walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew 
his brother casting a net into the sea ; for they were fishers. 
And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will 
make you to become fishers of men. And straightway they 
forsook their nets, and followed him. And when he had 
gone a little farther thence, he saw James the son of Zebe- 
dee, and John his brother, who also were in the ship mend- 
ing their nets. And straightway he called them ; and they 
left their father Zebedee in the ship with the hired servants, 
and went after him." And now look on this: "And after 
these things he went forth, and saw a publican, named Levi, 
sitting at the receipt of custom ; and he said unto him, 
Follow me. And he left all, rose up, and followed him." 
These were men Avho seized upon the crisis, became apos- 
tles, and witnesses of Jesus and the resurrection. Having 
continued with him in his temptations, he appointed unto 
them a kingdom, even as the Father appointed unto him ; 
they now eat and drink at his table in his kingdom, and 
sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Jesus 



THE ANSWER BY FIRE. 207 

of Nazareth passeth by a certain place; a blind man, when 
told of it, raises the plaintive cry, "Jesus, thou Son of Da- 
vid, have mercy on me!" Jesus calls him, and opens his 
blind eyes. Multitudes on Pentecost cry, " Men and breth- 
.ren, what shall we do?" In one day three thousand gladly 
'received the word, and on the same day were added to the 
Church. Paul preaches at a proseuclia by a river-side near 
Philippi ; Lydia's heart is opened, and she is saved. The 
jailer in Philippi at midnight cries, " What must I do to 
be saved?" " Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ," was the 
answer, " and thou shalt be saved, and thy house." The 
jailer seized upon the crisis; he believed; and he and all 
his house were baptized on that very night. 

"Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the 
day of salvation." " To-day if ye will hear his voice, 
harden not your hearts." Reader, Christ calleth thee! 
Listen to his gracious invitation; it is addressed to you: 
" Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and 
I will give you rest." And hear his precious promise: 
" Him that cometh unto me, I will in no ^Yise cast out." 
And he is nigh thee! " Say not in thine heart. Who shall 
ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from 
above) or. Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to 
bring up Christ again from the dead). But what saith it? 
The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart; 
that is, the word of faith, which we preach : that if thou 
shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt be- 
lieve in thine heart that God hath raised him from the 
dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man be- 
lieveth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession 
is made unto salvation." 

In a sermon on "Behold, now is the accepted time; be- 
hold, now is the day of salvation," the preacher was press- 
ing the thought that then and there the truly penitent might 



208 ELIJAH VINDICATED, 

find present salvation. One who had been seeking peace, 
but had not found it, arose and came into the altar re- 
joicing. Kadiant with the deep joy Avhich she felt, she 
faced the multitude; and, wdth burning, convincing, and 
yet modest speech, she told that she was a happy witness to 
the truth. Now is the accepted time, and now the day of 
salvation ; for Jesus, while the minister was preaching, had 
spoken peace to her troubled heart. That minister ended 
his sermon, saying: "God is preaching; it is unnecessary 
to say more." Numbers were awakened, sought the Lord, 
and found him. At another time and place, while that 
preacher was preaching from the same text, he was enforc- 
ing the danger of putting off the day of our return to God. 
He was showing at what imminent peril the gospel message 
is rejected or neglected ; for God's last offer of pardon comes 
at some time, and that moment might be a crisis to some 
who heard him. A young man — while the minister was 
still preaching — arose, and, in deepest agony, ran to the 
pulpit. Throwing himself on his knees before it, he cried: 
"Lost! lost! lost!" But he was not lost; he found peace, 
and is now an active and pious official member in the 
Church of Christ, on his way to heaven, and trying to per- 
suade others to go with him. In one of the leading Church 
papers of the day, its editor told that, on another occasion, 
as many as sixty persons dated their awakening and con- 
version mainly to a sermon from the same text and by the 
same preacher. AYith voice and pen that preacher, as an 
embassador for God, would entreat, beseech, persuade you 
in Christ's stead "be ye reconciled to God," for "be- 
hold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of 
salvation." And he could tell of other like precious ex- 
periences. He could tell how an infidel and skeptic gave 
up his infidelity and skepticism, surrendered himself to 
God, and was converted, and made unspeakably happy, all 



THE ANSWER BY FIRE, 209 

in the same moment, and while the minister was speaking 
of the power which attended the baptism of the Holy Ghost 
on Pentecost and afterward. He could tell how a peni- 
tent received the Divine assurance of sins forgiven, for 
Jesus' sake, while the one was in the very act of administer- 
ing, and the other was in the very act of receiving by feith, 
the wine in the sacrament of the Lord's Supper. They 
who know that preacher know that he has been preaching 
for thirty years, and that never has he put in print what 
he believes the Lord may have wrought through him. 
Perhaps he has been at fault in this ; and if so, he ought to 
pray God to forgive him. Equally, we believe, would he 
ask the Divine forgiveness if silence ought never to have 
been broken. What has been said of that preacher has 
been told with the earnest prayer that it may be made of 
God a blessing to some hesitating or penitent soul that may 
perchance read these words. And as for believers in Jesus 
who have already experienced the joy of pardoned sins, 
may they find comfort and blessing in what has been writ- 
ten. May the lukewarm be stirred up ; may the indiffer- 
ent be aroused ; may they who have not the witness of the 
Spirit have that blessed testimony in their hearts to their 
present acceptance with God through faith in Christ; and 
may they that are hungering and thirsting after righteous- 
ness be filled with all the fullness of God ! May every be- 
liever in Jesus and him crucified experience all that that 
precious word "salvation" means! May every minister of 
the Lord Jesus be indued with pow^er from on high ; and 
may every one preach with heart of love, witli tongue of 
fire, and in demonstration of the Spirit and of power! May 
all speak the word of God with boldness, with great power 
bear witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and may 
great grace be upon them all ! And may God so baptize 
the Church with the Holy Ghost that all who believe may 
14 



210 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

be of one heart and of one soul, and no man say that aught 
of the things which he possesses is his own ! Lord Jesus, 
whenever, wherever, and by whomsoever thy gospel is 
preached, let him by whom it is preached realize thy latest 
promise: " Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of 
the world." And may the God that answereth by the bap- 
tism of the Holy Ghost, and that will answer at the end 
of the world by consuming and unquenchable fire, cleanse, 
purify, and refine all the saints that are in Christ Jesus ; 
convert and comfort the humble penitent ; arouse the halt- 
ing; and confound the infidel Baalites who will not have 
the man Christ Jesus to reign over them. Amen. O thou 
that answereth by fire, hear us as we sing with one whose 
lips, like Isaiah's, were touched with a live coal from thine 
altar : 

thai in me the sacred fire 
Might now begin to glow / 

Burn up the dross of base desire, 
And make the m.ountains flow ! 

that it now from heaven might fall, 
And all my sins consume ! 

Come, Holy Ghost, for thee I call ; 
Spirit of burning, come! 

Refining fire, go through my heart ; 

Illuminate my soul; 
Scatter thy life through every part, 

And sanctify the lohole. 

No longer, then, my heart shall mourn; 
While, purified by grace, 

1 only for his glory burn, 

And always see his face. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

THE KISHON. 

ELIJAH has triumphed. The God that answereth by 
fire is God, and Elijah is his prophet. The Tishbite 
orders the arrest of the priests of Baal, and the people obey. 
''And Elijah said unto them. Let not one of them escape. And 
they took them; and Elijah brought them down to the brook 
Kishon, and sleiu them there." 

One may well imagine the consternation of Baal's priests 
when the fire came down from heaven upon Elijah's sacrifice, 
and all the people rent the air with the shout, " The Lord, 
he is the God! The Lord, he is the God!" Fallen their 
proud crests ; blanched their cheeks ; downcast their looks ; 
trembled their hearts. Crouching with fear, and huddled 
together like timid partridges, they quailed before the de- 
vouring fire of Israel's God. They read their doom in the 
prophet's fiery eye; they hear it pronounced in tones which 
unmistakably indicate the Tishbite's iron Avill and inflexible 
purpose. The sun-god, whom they served, and on whom 
they called in their extremity of trial, neither answered by 
fire nor came to their rescue when the people, at Elijah's 
bidding, turned against and laid violent hands upon them. 
Succumbing to their fate, and knowing that resistance and 
rescue were vain, they were led by the people down from 
the amphitheater on Carmel to the Kishon in the valley 
below. 

But where was the king who worshiped the god whom 
they served, and who had tlicm under his kingly protection? 
Did he interpose no resistance to the proohet's doom ? These 

(211) 



212 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

questions we shall presently answer. But meanwhile Baal's 
priests must die ; there is no power in Israel's king to pluck 
them out of Elijah's hands. For the sovereign and abso- 
lute Lord God of Israel had affixed the death-penalty to 
their crime; and Elijah was his authorized minister in Is- 
rael to pronounce his judgment, and execute his sentence. 
The sentence was Jehovah's, and not Elijah's. Jehovah 
was supreme lawgiver in Israel, and its government was a 
pure theocracy. He made its laws ; its rulers were his min- 
isters to see that they were faithfully obeyed, and promptly 
executed according to their letter and spirit. Whether these 
rulers were patriarchs, prophets, judges, or kings, they were 
all God's ministers; they all held their positions by his 
authority, and were his vicegerents. While it is true that 
all rulers on earth are subordinate and accountable to him 
as the supreme Lord and Governor of the universe, yet this 
was true, in a very special sense, of all who exercised au- 
thority over his chosen people. Jehovah was King in Is- 
rael. He was a ruler of the Hebrews in a sense in which 
he was not the ruler of any other people. The Hebrew 
commonwealth which he set up always had the higher law 
to govern it. That higher law was expressed in ordinances 
and statutes, which the Lord God of Israel himself had 
made, or in his will as revealed, from time to time, by those 
who were commissioned, qualified, and sent to declare it. 
Not even when he permitted the Israelites to choose a king 
for themselves did Jehovah abrogate the laws which he 
made and promulgated for their government, or abdicate 
his supreme authority over them. At no time w^ere the 
Hebrews absolved from their allegiance to the God of 
Israel. Both the king and the people were bound to take 
his laws as the only rule both of private and official con- 
duct. If any human law contravened these, it was null 
and void ah initio. Comparing the contravening law of a 



THE Kisnoy. 213 



refractory Israelitish ruler with enactments of legislative 
bodies that are directly contrary to the fundamental law 
and written compact, it was unconstitutional and revolu- 
tionary. And he who enacted it was wicked, rebellious, 
and traitorous, and was exposed to divine wrath and pun- 
ishment. Obedience to it was forbidden by the heaviest 
penalties. That men must obey God rather than man was 
a provision in the fundamental law of the Hebrew consti- 
tution "that admitted of no possible exception. And while 
this was of universal it was of special application, and was 
enforced by the severest sanctions whenever contrary legisla- 
tion compromised, in anywise, the divinity of Jehovah, or 
in any degree interfered with his prescribed ritual. To re- 
fuse supreme worship to Jehovah, to worship idols, or to in- 
troduce the worship of any other god, was high treason of 
the most obnoxious and impious character. The introducers 
of idol-worship, of whatever kind, were transgressors of 
deepest guilt. The teachers or priests who corrupted the 
people, and drew them after themselves away from God, 
w'ere to be punished with the heaviest penalties. The 
prophet who presumed to speak in the name of Israel's God 
a word which God had not commanded him to speak, or 
that spoke in the name of any other god, was to suffer death. 
If a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, should arise and ad- 
vise to go after other gods and serve them, God's commands 
were to punish with death that prophet or dreamer of 
dreams, because he had spoken to turn his people away 
from the Lord their God, wlio brought them out of the land 
of Egypt. More than this: If a brother, a son, a daugh- 
ter, or a wife, should entice one to go and serve other gods, 
even the nearest relatives were forbidden to pity, to spare, 
or to conceal the offender, and were commanded to be the 
first to put the guilty one to death. More explicit still, and 
more severe, were the laws against the foreign idolaters who 



214 ELIJAH riKDlCATED. 

should attempt to seduce his people with their abominations. 
The chosen people were commanded to utterly destroy all 
the places wherein the nations which they possessed served 
their gods, to overthrow their altars, break their pillars, 
burn their groves with fire, hew down the graven images 
of their gods, to blot out their names, and to exterminate 
the idolatrous priests and people. 

From Jehovah's judgments there was no appeal but by 
submission, penitence, and prayer. His sovereignty was 
absolute, his right indefeasible, and his powder omnipotent. 
He could set up one ruler, and he could pull down another. 
Whenever a ruler of his chosen people, who derived all his 
authority from him, and held it at his absolute will, dared 
to change or modify his commands, or failed to execute 
them, Jehovah, the absolute King of the Hebrews, either 
removed his refractory vicegerent and put another in his 
place; or, if he continued him in power, sent his servants, 
the prophets, to do -what such disobedient and rebellious 
ruler failed to do. Ahab, in this instance, was that diso- 
bedient and rebellious ruler. He not only did evil in the 
sight of the Lord above all the kings before him, but he 
introduced into God's own kingdom of Israel the gods of 
the Zidonians, and gave to them supreme worship. This 
was high treason against Israel's supreme God and King. 
Wherefore Ahab deserved to die, if ever a traitor to king 
and country deserved death. If Jehovah's judgments and 
wrath had fallen on him, Israel's God and King would have 
meted out to him only his just and merited desert. And 
yet he spares the guilty king, the arch-traitor, the idola- 
trous ruler, but punishes the foreign priests who misled and 
seduced him. 

These things we have written because there are those who 
have foolishly charged Elijah with cruelty. When the 
prophet condemned the priests of Baal to death, he but 



THE KISHOK. 215 



pronounced the judgment of God upon idolaters taken in 
flagrante delicto. The sentence ^Yhich he pronounced was 
a judicial sentence; as God's high-sheriff of the realm he 
executed it. If any charge of cruelty is to be brought, let 
it be against the Lord God of Israel, and not against his 
minister and servant Elijah. Boldly charge it upon the 
Holy One of Israel, but let his prophet go free and uncou- 
demned. 

Down from the place of trial by fire the priests are led 
to the brook Kishon. The Kishon is " that ancient river, 
the river Kishon," which Deborah celebrated in the tri- 
umphant ode that prophetess of the Most High God sung 
in commemoration of the overthrow of Sisera and the hosts 
of Jabin, King of Caanan. Swollen by the winter rains 
which then rushed down the sides of Carmel, the Kishon 
swept away into the bay at the base of the mountain prom- 
ontory the dead bodies of multitudes attempting to cross 
these " waters of IMegiddo." Then the Kishon was a fierce 
torrent, bearing all things on its surging tide; now it is a 
shallow stream, affected by the drought, and nearly dried 
up, except where it approaches the bay of the great sea, 
into which it empties itself. It was perhaps from thence — 
from the tides which flow into it from the Mediterranean- 
Elijah procured the water which he poured upon his altar 
of sacrifice; and it was there the priests were led, and there 
they were slain. ''And they took them; and Elijah brought 
them down to the brook Kishon, and sleio them there." But 
it is not probable that the prophet's own hands slew Baal'* 
priests. They were seized by his order ; he headed the party 
that arrested and conducted them ; and he looked on and saw 
that his sentence was faithfully executed. But as these things 
were done by his command and under his direction, they 
are said to have been done by himself: "Qui facit per all- 
um, facit per «e." Wherefore, speaking according to thig 



216 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

universally recognized principle, that what one does by an- 
other he does himself, it may be said that Elijah brought the 
priests to the brook and slew them there, though his own hands 
may not have struck a single blow. However this may be, 
it was Elijah's act; and it was done by the command of 
Elijah's God. At the brook they were all slain ; not one 
of them escaped. Suffering the just penalty of the laws 
they had broken, their blood dyed the " waters of Megiddo," 
and mingled with the w^aters of the great sea. 

The priests of Baal slain, the sentence of Israel's God 
executed by his prophet Elijah, who will bring a charge of 
cruelty against Israel's supreme and sovereign King? who 
art thou that repliest against God? who Avill dispute the 
prerogative of Israel's God and King in his own royal 
kingdom of Samaria? wdio will call in question the wisdom 
of his laws, the righteousness of his government, the jus- 
tice of his administration? Yea, when these are rightly 
understood, who will doubt his goodness, his tender mercy, 
his long-suifering, and his forbearance? 

Given that he is the only living and true God, the cre- 
ator of heaven and earth. Grant that he chose the He- 
brews as a people for himself; that, by his miraculous prov- 
idences, he preserved and multiplied them until they became 
a mighty nation; that he formed them into a common- 
wealth, and governed them by laws written with his own 
fingers on tables of stone and handed down to them amid 
the thunders and lightnings of Sinai; that they entered 
into a mutual covenant, and ratified it by the most solemn 
pledges and sanctions; that, by that compact, he undertook 
to be their God, to establish them in the land he promised 
to their fathers, and to defend them against all their ene- 
mies; that, by the same agreement, they promised to have 
him alone for their God and King, to obey his laws, to 
worship him and him only, to make to themselves no im- 



THE KISHON. 217 



age or likeness of any thing in heaven, in earth, or in the 
waters under the earth; to bow the knee to no idol; to 
root out and utterly to exterminate all idolaters and all 
idol-worship, and to love the Lord their God with all their 
heart, and with all their soul, and with all their strength. 
Such is a brief epitome of the solemn league and covenant 
between the contracting j^arties ! How infinite the conde- 
scension of Almighty God, to admit his creature man into 
a compact with himself! Given also that God was faith- 
ful to his covenant ; that the compact was wickedly broken 
again and again by his chosen people ; that they trampled 
on his laws, killed his prophets, dug down his altars, 
made to themselves images of false gods, worshiped idols, 
introduced and served other gods, and tried to dethrone 
altogether their covenant Lord and King. Given again 
that these things were capital offenses, punished by such 
forms of death as their supreme God and King prescribed, 
and of which they had sufficient knowledge and warning. 
Grant his long-suffering and forbearance; that he bore long 
and patiently with them ; that he tried by all means, when 
they sinned, forsook him, rebelled against him, and served 
other gods, to win them back to allegiance and duty ; that 
he was always pitiful and merciful, ready to forgive the 
penitent, to blot out their transgressions, and to remember 
them no more. Given all these things — and the one-thou- 
sandth part has not been told — and who so presumptuous 
as to say that God's judgments were too severe, either to- 
ward his wicked, rebellious, and stiff-necked people, or to- 
ward the profane and impious heathen teachers who cor- 
rupted them, caused them to sin, to commit whoredoms, to 
engage in idolatrous and obscene worship, and drew their 
hearts away from loving and serving the God of their 
fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? The marvel is not 
that God sometimes visited them with severe judgments, 



218 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

but that he permitted the incorrigibly wicked, rebellious, 
and idolatrous to live at all. The wonder is that he spared 
them for the sake of their fathers, and for the sake of the 
few faithful ones in Israel who sighed and cried because of 
its abominations. The wonder is that the wicked and re- 
bellious were not all cut off and exterminated, and that he 
had not left only those w^ho were true to him and his worship. 
O the depth of the exceeding riches of his grace! Past 
finding out his forbearance, long-suffering, and tender mercy ! 
For all his dealings with his people Israel show that he was 
worthy of the name which he proclaimed to Moses when he 
descended in the cloud, and stood with him in the mount: 
** The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long- 
suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth." 

And as the Lord God was then, so is he now. How is 
it that he beare so long wdth sinners, and with such sinners? 
How is it that he gave his only-begotten Son to die for sin- 
ners? How is it that Jesus, the innocent One, died for the 
guilty? How is it that he suffered the just for the unjust? 
How is it that his latest breath on the cross was a prayer 
for the scribes and Pharisees and rulers of the people w^ho 
dragged him to Pilate's judgment-seat ; for the Roman gov- 
ernor w^ho knowingly sent an innocent man to death ; for 
those who mocked and derided and smote him ; for those 
who nailed him to the accursed, tree; and for him-who gave 
the cruel spear-thrust in his side? How is it that the great 
God bears so long with those who take his holy name in 
vain, profane his Sabbaths, make light of his offers of mer- 
cy, reject his Son and crucify him afresh, do despite unto 
the Spirit of grace, and seek to dethrone himself from the 
government of the universe? How is it that he is so long- 
suffering with the Baalites of this day? How is it that he 
is so patient with the teachers of science falsely so called, 
who exalt the Ego above every thing that is called God 



THE KISHOK. 219 



and is worshiped? How is it that he sends the early and 
the latter rains, the sunshine and the dew, upou the fields 
of the very men who deny his personality and providence, 
and ascribe to blind chance, or to evolution, to molecules, 
to protoplasm, the universe itself? How is it that they are 
so often in health, honored, exalted, enriched, while believ- 
ers in God and his only-begotten Son are so often afflicted, 
forgotten, forsaken, despised, and poor? Answer these ques- 
tions, and a thousand more that might be asked, ye who, 
when heavy judgments fall upon the wicked, the impious, 
and the infidel, are so swift to charge God with cruelty! 
Ko one who believes that God is, and that he is a re warder 
of them that diligently seek him, ever charges .God with 
cruelty ; no, not even when the heaviest calamities fall upon 
himself. Believers in Jesus glory in tribulation, knowing 
that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; 
and experience, hope ; and hope maketh not ashamed ; be- 
cause the love of God is shed abroad in their hearts by the 
Holy Ghost, which is given unto them. They count it all 
joy when they fall into divers temptations; they think it 
not strange concerning any fiery trial which is to try them, 
as though some strange thing happened unto them, rejoic- 
ing inasmuch as they are partakers of Christ's sufferings. 
They know that when God dealeth with them thus, he 
dealeth with them as with sons, and not as with bastards. 
They reckon that the sufferings of this present time are 
not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be 
revealed in them; they know that their light affliction, 
which is but for a moment, worketh for them a far more 
exceeding and eternal weight of glory. For they look not 
at the things which are seen, but at the things which are 
not seen ; for the things which are seen are temporal, but 
the things which are not seen are eternal. They love God, 
and they know that God loves them ; therefore are they 



220 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

assured that all things work together for their good. What 
God does they may not know now ; but they are sweetly 
comforted by the blessed assurance that they shall know 
hereafter. A present providence may be dark; but 

God is his oivn inlerpreterj 
And he luill make it plain. 

Believers, in this life, have trouble, it is true ; but, then, they 
have rest in trouble here, and the unshaken faith that they 
will have rest from all trouble in the life which is to come. 
Hence, the happiest moments of the saints have been mo- 
ments of suffering affliction. Daniel was happier in the 
den of lions than when he was honored as the chief presi- 
dent of the one hundred and twenty kingdoms of the Per- 
sian Empire. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego never be- 
fore were so nigh to God as they Avere in the flames of the 
fiery furnace, because a fourth was walking with them 
amid the flames whose form was like the Son of God. 
Paul and Silas never sung so blithely as on that night in 
the jail at Philippi, when their feet were fast in the stocks, 
and the blood was trickling down their bleeding, lacerated 
backs. Martyrs for Jesus have shouted the praises of God 
while consuming fires were roasting their flesh and licking 
up their life-blood. The pursuivant who summoned Lati- 
mer to his trial before the council at Westminster he greet- 
ed " as a welcome messenger," though he knew that " Smith- 
field already groaned for him." At the stake he saluted 
his martyr-companion with the cheering words: "Be of 
good comfort. Master Kidley, and play the man ; we shall 
this day light such a candle by God's grace in England as, 
I trust, shall never be put out." Embracing the flames, 
and stroking his face Avith his hands as if bathing it in 
them, his glorified spirit ascended on high as in a chariot 
of fire. Such suffering believers in Jesus, we repeat, bring 



THE KISHOK. 221 



110 charge of cruelty against the God they serve. Neither 
are they envious when they see the prosperity of the 
■svicked. For they know that their Redeemer liveth, and 
that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth ; and 
though after their skin worms destroy their bodies, yet in 
their flesh shall they see God; whom they shall see for 
themselves, and their eyes shall behold, and not another. 
They know whom they have believed, and are persuaded 
that he" is able to keep that which they have committed 
unto him against that day. They know that if their earthly 
house of this tabernacle were dissolved, they have a build- 
ing of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the 
heavens. " The Lord is my shepherd ; I shall not want ; " 
" God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in 
trouble " — these are their songs in the house of their pil- 
grimage. Let earthquakes and tempests shake earth and 
sea, they will not fear, though the earth be removed, and 
though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; 
though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though 
the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. For there 
is to them "a river, the streams whereof shall make glad 
the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacle of the 
Most High. God is in the midst of her ; she shall not be 
moved ; God shall help her, and that right early." 

But why multiply these precious things of the saints of 
God — the believers in Jesus? Instead of charging God 
with cruelty, they glory in tribulations. They see the end 
of the Lord therein ; they know that the Lord is very pit- 
iful and of tender mercy. They understand them all to 
be but trials of their faith; and that the trial of their faith, 
being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, 
though it be tried with fire, shall be found unto praise and 
honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ. Rich- 
est compensations for all their sufferings here will he give 



222 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

to them who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all 
that they can ask or think. What does Baalism, what 
does atheism, what does infidelity offer in exchange for the 
exceeding great and precious promises of the personal God 
of the Old and New Testament Scriptures? No God, and 
no hope in the world, is all they promise here ; a tomb, an 
eternal sleep, or annihilation at best, is all they hold out in 
the future. Wherefore, the God that answereth by fire is 
our God, and he shall be our guide even unto death. For 
" he doeth all things well." " He sent redemption unto his 
people; he hath commanded his covenant forever; holy 
and reverend is his name." " O that men would praise the 
Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the 
children of men ! " Clouds and darkness may be round 
about him, yet righteousness and judgment are the habita- 
tion of his throne. " Why then halt ye between two opinions f 
if the Lord he God, follow him ; hut if Baal, then follow himJ^ 
Reader, choose this day whom you will serve! O that 
your choice, now and forever, may be the choice of Joshua: 
^^But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord J* 
Amen. 



CHAPTER XX. 

PRAYER AND ANSWER. 

'W 7"E asked, Where was the king when the priests of 
V V - Baal were arrested ? Did he interpose no resist- 
ance to the execution of the prophet's sentence? The rec- 
ord is silent; at least it gives no direct answer. If he were 
disposed to interfere, and did try to protect the condemned 
priests of his god, his efforts, king as he was, were unavail- 
ing against the mighty impulse given to the people by the 
answer of fire, and the triumph of Elijah. Nothing could 
withstand the impetuous multitude- that rushed to do the 
prophet's bidding. Ahab's will, if he purposed to protect 
the priests, was as powerless against the surging crowd as 
thistle-down before Eurus or Notus, when they sweep in vio- 
lence over sea and land. But we think it more than likely 
that Ahab himself, for the time, was borne irresistibly along 
with the multitude. If he did not join in the popular ac- 
claim, "The Lord, he is the God!'^ he seems to have giv- 
en his consent to the prophet's sentence, and to have been 
present and approving when Baal's priests were slain at the 
Kishon. For afler the execution was over, Elijah said unto 
Ahab: "Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of 
abundance of rain.'^ And it is added, "So Ahab went up to 
eat and to drink." 

" Get thee up, eat and drink," was manifestly addressed to 
Ahab by the prophet at the Kishon, and just afler he had 
slain the four hundred and fifty priests. It shows that the 
king had gone down from Carmcl to the brook. "Get thee 
up" was Elijah's command ; "8q Ahab went up" means that 

(223) 



224 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

he obeyed, and returned from the Kishon to the mount. 
That Ahab was humiliated and self-abased, appears evident 
from the prophet's present care for his wants. ^^Get thee 
up, eat and drink" was expressive of his tenderness for the 
humbled king, and of his belief in and acceptance of his 
penitence. Elijah comforts the penitent monarch by the 
announcement of the approaching rain. God had called 
his prophet away from the house of the widow woman at 
Zarephath, saying : " Go, shew thyself unto Ahab, and I will 
send rain upon the earth." But we saw that Elijah did not 
make this announcemeut to Ahab when he met him after 
his interview with Obadiah. If the king had been humble 
and penitent, it would then have been made. That he 
was not, was evident from the accusation which he brought 
against the prophet, "Art thou he that trouhleth Israel f" 
Wherefore, as before said, the Tishbite withheld from Ahab 
the purpose for w^hich God sent him from Zarephath. Nei- 
ther was the near return of rain made known to him upon 
Mount Carmel. For not yet was he prepared to receive it ; 
not yet was Elijah ready to make it known. But now that 
Baal's priests have been slain ; now that Ahab did not in- 
terfere to prevent it, but was present and assenting ; and 
now that the proud king, humbled by the judgments of Je- 
hovah, is penitent, Elijah tells him to go up to Carmel, for 
" there is a sound of abundance of rain." 

"And Elijah luent up to the top of Carmel, and he cast him- 
self doivn upon the earth, and put his face between his knees, 
and said to his servant. Go up, 7iow, look toward the sea. And 
he went up and looked, and said, There is nothing. And he 
said. Go again seven times. And it came to pass at the sev- 
enth time, that he said. Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out 
of the sea, like a man's hayid. And he said. Go up, say unto 
Ahab, Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down, that the rain 
stop thee not." 



PRAYER AND ANSWER, 225 

Elijah went to the top of Carmel to pray ; and he went 
up there to pray for rain. But had not Elijah told Ahab 
that there was " a sound of abundance of rain ?" and did he 
not say this before he left the brook? Why, then, did the 
prophet pray for it, if he had already heard its sound, and 
knew that it was coming? why did he speak as if it were 
already in sight, and its noise might be heard? The im- 
plicit faith of God's prophet supplies the ready answer. 
Faith-sees and hears before the thing desired and asked is 
revealed to the senses. Its language is the language of cer- 
tainty unmixed with doubt or unbelief. Whatever is great- 
ly desired, and by implicit child-like faith is sought in prayer, 
is so sure that it is regarded already in possession. This is 
that faith which our blessed Lord exhorted his apostles to 
have when they wondered that the fig-tree, which he had 
cursed, was so soon dried up and withered away. When 
Peter called it to remembrance, the Master answered and 
said: ^'Havejaith in God^ It was such faith in the divine 
power, and in God's faithfulness to his promises, as God has 
in himself. 

Our translators, staggering at the saying of our Lord — 
"E'/^re KiffTt'j dtoo — translate, "Have faith in God." They 
put into the margin, however, "Have the faith of God;" but 
they did not have faith enough to receive so large a saying, 
and put it into their English text. The translators of the 
New Version had still less faith; for they render, as in our 
Authorized Version, " Have faith in God," omitting alto- 
gether the marginal reading of the latter, as if our Lord's 
saying were an adagial hyperbole that must be toned down 
to meet the weakness of their own faith. For there is no 
man, not blinded by unbelief, who does not see that our 
blessed Lord nuist have used the words in some special 
sense, and to denote some extraordinary gift. If he simply 
exhorted the apostles to "have faith in God," his saying is 
15 



226 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

of universal application. For it may be applied to things 
far less difficult than withering a green fig-tree by a word, 
removing mountains, or plucking up sycamore-trees by the 
roots. There was not one of the apostles who did not have 
faith in God ; there was not one of them who did not, by 
faith, receive Jesus of Nazareth as the Christ. This pro- 
fession of faith in him was the rock upon which he built his 
Church. And yet their faith needed strengthening; what 
they lacked was the faith of God — such as God has in him- 
self. Nor did our Lord simply mean that the faith which 
he told them to have should be the faith w^hich comes from 
God, and of which he is the author. For this is true of all 
faith. There is no faith that is not of God. It w^as true of 
the faith which enabled the apostles to call Jesus the Christ ; 
for no one can call Jesus the Christ but by the Holy Ghost. 
The weakest faith is as much of God as the strongest, Hence 
if the Master only meant that they should receive their 
faith from God, what did he tell the apostles more than 
they already knew? Manifestly, then, the faith of which 
he speaks is some extraordinary faith — a faith that no more 
doubts God than God doubts himself. 

And such is child-like faith — the faith that knows noth- 
ing whatever of fear or doubt. Have such faith — and have 
it ye may — and then ask w^hatsoever ye will, and it shall be 
done unto you. If it be never so small ; if it be but as a 
grain of mustard-seed, it can do not only what w^as done to 
the fig-tree, but it can remove mountains. For the faith 
that is as a grain of mustard-seed is not, as may be casually 
supposed, the least possible, but large and extraordinary 
faith. If such faith is the least possible, then he who can- 
not remove mountains has no faith at all. The apostles* 
faith was more than the least, or Christ would not have so 
honored it ; but it was not all that it should be. For they 
still had questionings and doubts and fears. They had not 



PEAYER AND ANSWER. 227 

the faith of God. There were many things which they did 
not receive, and many things which they coald not do, be- 
cause of their faith's weakness. As a grain of mustard-seed 
that is good and pure, with a sound and healthy germ, is ca- 
pable of reproducing itself, and of becoming a tree in whose 
branches the birds of heaven may lodge, so the faith, that 
is like it, can do what is equally great and wonderful. 
And as the mustard-seed is unmixed, and has nothing for- 
eign to itself, so " the faith of God "—the faith which God 
has in himself, and which we may have in him — is pure, and 
without any mixture of fear or doubt whatever. Hence our 
Lord, in the same passage which treats of the withered fig- 
tree, says : " Whosoever shall not doubt in his heart, but shall 
believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he 
shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore I say unto yoUy 
what things soever ye desire when ye pray, believe that ye re- 
ceive, and ye shall have them." This is "the faith of God;" 
this is the faith like a grain of mustard-seed. It never ques- 
tions. It never doubts. It takes God at his word. It be- 
lieves him faithful that has promised. It knows there is 
nothing impossible with God. It leans upon his promise. 
And its repose is the repose of absolute rest. For it has in 
possession whatever it needs the very moment it is needed. 

And it has the assurance of success, and justifies its pre- 
diction. Its marked characteristic is that it is generally 
preceded by the declaration that the thing to be done is 
already done. "In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, 
rise up and walk." Strength to the feet and ankle-bones of 
the impotent man Peter knew would accompany his com- 
mand. Unless this were simultaneously given, how could 
he " rise up and walk?" And yet this was what the apostle 
told him to do. It was a thing which Peter would not have 
required, if he had not been perfectly assured that the need- 
ed strength would be instantly given. At Lydda, there was 



228 ETAJATT VINDICATED. 



"a certain man named ^neas, which had kept his bed eight 
years, and was sick of the palsy." And unto him Peter said : 
" JEneas, Jesus Christ maketh tliee whole ; arise, and make 
thy bed." And the self-same moment he arose. 

Now, Elijah did no more than this, when, before it came, 
he said there was " a sound of abundance of rain." The 
whole thing is comprehended in, and made plain by, the 
saying and promise of our Lord : What things soever ye de- 
sire when ye pray, believe that ye receive, and ye shall have 
them^ The answer to such faith is so sure that he who has 
it may say that the thing desired and asked is already re- 
ceived. And the effect of such faith is not, because the 
answer is assured, to restrain or withhold prayer, but to 
make it more earnest and importunate. It is doubt or un- 
belief that makes us neglect to pray; and it is doubt or 
unbelief, when we do pray, that causes us to faint and to 
give over before the answer is received. The faith which 
overcomes never wavers, knowing that the answer will be 
as and at the very time the thing asked is needed. It wres- 
tles, if need be, from the going down of the sun until the 
morning breaks. Such faith was Jacob's, and such was 
Elijah's. 

But it may also be asked, Did not Elijah say to Ahab 
that there should not be dew nor rain these years but ac- 
cording to his word? Why, then, did he pray, seeing that, 
by speaking the Avord only, he could bring them again? 
The answer is, Elijah could not speak the word which with- 
held them until, in answer to prayer, the Lord God of Is- 
rael authorized him to withhold them. Nor could he speak 
the word which should return them before the same Lord 
God, in answer to prayer, permitted him to speak it. In 
both instances the withholding and the restoring were ac- 
cording to Elijah's word ; but that it was so, was in direct 
answer to his prayer. St. James lets us into the whole se- 



PRAYER AND ANSWER. 229 

cret. In proof of the postulate that " the effectual fervent 
prayer of a righteous man availeth much with God," he tells 
us that ^'Elias was a man subject to like passioJis as we are, 
and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain ; and it rained 
not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. 
And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the 
earth brought forth her fruit.'' And thus Ave see that both 
the drought and the return of rain were due to " the effect- 
ual fervent prayer " of Elijah the prophet of God. 

As the rain was in answer to prayer, it was well that the 
people should know it, and that the man of God should set 
them an example. It was well that they should see the 
connection between the prayers of Elijah and the drought 
which afflicted Samaria for three years and a half and the 
return of rain to revive the earth. It showed to them, as 
nothing else could, the sovereignty of the personal God of 
Israel over all the forces of nature, and their own absolute 
dependence upon him for all of nature's gifts. It reminded 
them that God could shut up and open the heavens at his 
will ; that the sunshine and the dew, the early and the latter 
rain, and the fruitful seasons, are given or withheld at his 
word. And it recalled vividly to their remembrance the 
promises of covenant-keeping Jehovah to their fathers, and 
his gracious aud marvelous answers to their j^rayers. 

We have thus fiiy, while tracing the history of the Tish- 
bite, met with four memorable answers to his effectual 
fervent prayers — the drought, raising from the dead the 
young son of the vridow woman of Zarephath, the fire Avhich 
came down from heaven upon the sacrifice on Carmel, and 
the cloud which arose out of the Mediterranean and brought 
the rain to the parched fields and vineyards, and to the 
dried-up wadics and brooks of Samaria. It is not possible 
that Elijah's example was lost even upon the then semi- 
infidel and idolatrous children of Israel. It is more than 



230 ELIJAH VIXDICATED. 

probable that many of the multitude on Carmel were per- 
suaded by the successes of Elijah to return to their allegi- 
ance to the God of their fathers, and to revive his worship. 
And it is more than likely that many who had not bowed 
the knee to Baal, but had ceased to pray to Jehovah, aft- 
erward became men of prayer, strong in faith, and giving 
glory to God. 

The Christian, every believer in Jesus, will be reminded 
by Elijah's example of our blessed Lord. Jesus of Naza- 
reth — the God-man — was a man of prayer. At his bap- 
tism, w^hile he was praying, the heaven was opened, and the 
Holy Ghost descended in bodily shape like a dove upon 
him, and a voice from heaven said: "Thou art my beloved 
Son; in thee I am- well pleased" The night before he 
chose his twelve apostles he went into amountain, and con- 
tinued all night in prayer. After his most popular mira- 
cle — multiplying the loaves and fishes — which won him the 
praises of thousands, and drew after him an ajDplauding 
multitude, he retired, and was alone praying. On the 
mountain apart, as he prayed, he was transfigured; the 
fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was 
white and glistening. At the Supper, having warned Peter 
that Satan desired to have him that he might sift him as wheat, 
he told him he had prayed for him that his faith fail not. In 
Gethsemane, when about to drink the bitter cup of the world's 
woes, in an agony of bloody sweat he prayed three times, and 
said: "Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take 
away this cup from me; nevertheless not ivhat I will, but 
what thou wilt.'' Just before his arrest and death he prayed 
to the Father in behalf of his disciples, and of^all who 
should afterward, through them, believe on him. And his 
almost latest breath was spent in prayer for the men who 
sentenced him to the cross and nailed him to it. 

But we must return to Elijah. He went up to the top 



PRAYER AND AXSWER. 231 

of Carmel. Away from the multitude, on one of the high- 
est points of the mount, he "went, that he might be alone 
when he prayed and communed with God. Like Jesus 
after him, whose transfiguration he was to witness, he re- 
tired apart to pray. This reminds us not only of the cus- 
tom of our blessed Lord, but of the advice he gave his dis- 
ciples in the Sermon on the Mount : "Aiid when ihou 2')Tayesi, 
thou shalt not he as the hyjjocrites are; for they love to pray 
standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, 
that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They 
have their reward. Bid thou, when thou prayest, enter into 
thy closet, and, ivhen thou hast shut the door, pray to thy 
leather which is in secret; and thy Father, which seeth in se- 
cret, shall renmrd thee openly.''^ Thus the prophet of God 
went to pray. The top of Carmel was his closet ; the door 
was shut; and no one saw but the Father, which seeth in 
secret. His servant — who is mentioned for the first time — 
went up with him, but not to stay and be present when he 
prayed. He has a use for his servant, but he is not to be 
a looker-on or a hearer while his master wrestles in prayer 
with the Holy One of Israel. So our Lord took Peter and 
James and John to the garden ; but they were not to wit- 
ness his anguish or to hear his agonizing prayer. ^'Sit ye 
herel' said he to them, ^^ while I go and pray yonder.'' 
"And he was withdraivn from them about a stone's cast, and 
kneeled down, and prayed." And thus Elijah was alone 
with God. He means work when he prays, and addresses 
himself to it with all the earnestness of his intense nature. 

"And he cast himself down upon the earth, and 2nd his 
face between his knees." He is bowed down in the humblest 
attitude, and with an earnestness that reminds us of the 
time when he stretched himself upon the body of the life- 
less boy in the upper room at Zarephath. His head touches 
the ground ; his face is between his knees. It is not enough 



232 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

that he is alone amid the solitudes of Carrael's top. He 
shuts out of view the brassy heavens above, the blue sea 
in the west, Carmel's lovely environs, its grottoes, its rocks, 
its shrubbery, and its trees. His senses are closed to all 
sights and sounds of earth; the eye of faith sees only God ; 
and his interior ear is opened to catch his slightest whis- 
per. 

But before he begins his earnest pleadings with Israel's 
God he says to his servant : ^'Go up now, look toward the 
sea.'' On the side of the Mediterranean, and overlooking 
it with unobstructed view, the servant of the prophet looks 
out over its waters. He is there to watch the distant hori- 
zon, and to report to his master the first cloud appearing 
above it. Meanwhile the man of God, with his head still 
resting on the earth and his face between his knees, is pour- 
ing out his soul in wrestling, importunate prayer. The 
servant, who had gone up and looked, returns, saying: 
^^ There is nothing." Not the smallest speck of cloud has 
he seen ; the heavens are as hard and brassy as ever. But 
the prophet is not discouraged. For he said: "Go again 
seven times.'' By this answer the Tishbite shows that he 
means to prevail ; that his faith will take no denial. He 
evidently uses the number seven — a number denoting per- 
fection among the Hebrews — to signify to his servant that 
he must keep going until signs of rain appear. And so the 
servant goes up again and again, and returns with the same 
answer : " There is nothing." But " it came to pass at the 
seventh time, that he said, B'-hold there ariseth a little cloud 
out of the sea like a man's In nd." It is enough! Elijah 
knows that his prayer is answered. That " little cloud " 
is bringing to Samaria the long looked-for rain. 

O for the unwavering faith of Elijah the Tishbite! We 
ask, and because we do not receive we faint, and cease to 
pray. "We ask and receive, and yet believe not. But the 



PRAYER AND ANSWER. 233 

" little cloud " was enough to satisfy Elijah. lu honor of 
his faith it became a great cloud that covered the whole 
heavens, and was big with rain. Little blessings, when re- 
ceived with child-like faith, become great blessings. But 
when little blessings are received with doubt, or with wav- 
ering faith, even they grow smaller, and may disappear al- 
together. The faith of many is like the faith of the apos- 
tles and disciples in Jerusalem, who, after Peter was cast 
into prison, made unceasing prayer to God for his deliver- 
ance. In answer to their petitions, and while they were 
yet offering them, God sent his angel, who opened the prison- 
doors, struck off the two chains which bound the apostle, 
and conducted him safely to the iron gate leading to the 
city. Peter went straight to the house of Mary the moth- 
er of Mark, " where many luere gathered together, prayivg/^ 
and knocked at the door of the gate. When Rhoda, the 
little damsel, who, hearing Peter's voice, opened not the 
gate for gladness, returned, and told them Peter stood be- 
fore it, they believed her not, but thought it was his angel. 
And when they opened the gate and saw that it was he, 
they were astonished. And yet it was for Peter's deliver- 
ance they were praying, and at that very hour. God of 
Elijah, increase our faith! O for faith like his! O for the 
faith of the heathen Syrophenician woman ! — a faith that 
holds on, even when the answer is, " There is nothing!" a 
faith that will not let go even when the answer is, " It is not 
meet to take the children's bread, and cast it to dogs;" a 
faith that will reply, " Go again seven times; " or, "Truth, 
Lord ; yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their 
master's table." 

When the servant of the prophet told him that he had 
seen a little cloud arising out of the sea like a man's hand, 
the prophet said to him: "Go up, say to Ahab, Prepare thy 
chariot, and get thee down, that the rain stop thee not." 



234 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

And reason there was for haste ! For " the heaven was 
soon black with clouds and wind, and there was a great 
rain." 

Dr. Adam Clarke, in his comments on this passage, 
after saying that the little cloud was " in the form of the 
hand bent, the concave side downward," adds: *'I have 
witnessed a resemblance of this kind at sea, previously to a 
great storm. A little cloud the size of a man's hand, first 
appearing, and this increasing in size and density every 
moment, till at last it covered the whole heavens, and then 
burst forth with incredible fury." The same learned writ- 
er mentions a similar occurrence, which Mr. Bruce wit- 
nessed, during his travels in Abyssinia, that put him "al- 
ways in mind of Elijah's foretelling rain on Mount Car- 
mel." But perhaps the most striking illustration of the 
*' little cloud " seen by Elijah's servant, is in Mr. Emerson's 
" Letters from the JEgean." We give it as Dr. Kitto gives 
it ; we quote from the " Forty-sixth Week — Saturday," in 
'' Solomon and the Kings " of his " Daily Bible Illustra- 
tions : " 

" There is something remarkable to us in the sign by which 
the prophet knew that the rain was coming. A little cloud 
in the horizon would be to us of small significance; but it 
is not so in the East. The clearness of the sky renders the 
slightest appearance of the kind distinctly visible, and it is 
known to be the sign of an immediate storm with violent 
rain. Of several instances that occur to us, one of the 
most graphic is that given by Mr. Emerson, in his 'Letters 
from the ^gean.' He is at sea in a Greek vessel in the 
Levant. One morning, which had opened clear and beauti- 
ful, it was announced that a squall might be expected. No 
sign recognizable by European landsmen appeared, but on 
attention being properly directed, 'a little black cloud' was 
seen on the verge of the horizon toward the south which 



PRAYEIi AND ANSWER. 235 

was every instant spreading rapidly over the face of the sky, 
and drawing nearer to the vessel. Order was immediately 
given to strike sail, and to prepare the vessel for scudding 
before the hurricane. 'But scarcely an instant had elapsed 
ere the squall was upon us, and all grew black around; the 
Avind came rushing and crisping ovei' the water, and in a 
moment the shiji was running almost gunwale down, while 
the rain was dashing in torrents on the decks. As quick 
as thought the foresail was torn from the yards, and as the 
gust rushed through the rigging the sheets and ropes were 
snapping and cackling with a fearful noise. The crew, how- 
ever, accustomed to such sudden visitants, were not slow in 
reefing the necessary sails, trimming the rigging, and bring- 
ing back the vessel to her proper course ; and in about a quar- 
ter of an hour, or even less, the hurricane had all passed away, 
the sun burst out again through the clouds that swept in 
its impetuous train ; the wind sunk to its former gentleness, 
and all was once more at peace, with the exception of the 
agitated sea, that continued for the remainder of the day 
rough and billowy.' " 

Elijah's prayers and their answers, the practical use St. 
James has made of them, the very great insistence upon 
prayer, and the exceeding great and precious promises giv- 
en to it — both in the Old and New Testament — will be our 
excuse for devoting the remainder of the chapter to its fur- 
ther consideration. We have seen that our Lord was fre- 
quent in prayer. It is said, "J.s he was praying in a certain 
place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, 
teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples" The dis- 
ciples of Jesus noticed that it was the habit of their Mas- 
ter to retire alone to pray. It was natural, therefore, for them 
to attribute his holy life, and his many wonderful works, to 
his prayers to the Father. From this they thought that he 
knew the secret of successful prayer ; that he knew how to 



236 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

pray, and what petitions were the most pleasing and accept- 
able to God. Hence they desired to know this secret. And 
as their Lord knew it, they requested him to teach them 
how to pray, that their prayers might be answered as his 
were. In compliance with this request he gave them that 
exquisite form, which ever since has been to his Church a 
model for all prayer. In its comprehensive petitions is in- 
cluded every real want of the human soul. As there are 
times when we know not what is best, or what is according 
to the will of God, it is a blessed privilege to have recourse 
to a prayer indited by Him who is the life, the truth, and 
the way. In the Lord's Prayer, which is the Christian's 
'' petition of right," there is not a petition which does not 
comprehend both what is best and what is according to the 
will of God, and that does not embrace, directly or indirect- 
ly, every thing needful and proper. There is not a request 
for ourselves, or others, that is not embraced in the petition, 
" T% will he done in earth, as it is in heaven.^' For God, 
who knows our desires — no matter how special and secret 
they may be — knows whether they are according to his will. 
And if they are, and we ask in faith, his word is pledged to 
fiulfill them. His promise is sure. It cannot fail. 

These things being so, there is no wonder our Lord said, 
"Men ought always to pray, and not to faint." For prayer is 
the only channel through which God promises to convey the 
blessings of providence and grace. But does not God send 
the early and the latter rain upon the evil as well as upon 
the good, and cause his sun to shine upon the unjust as well 
as upon the just? That is true. For the eyes of all wait 
upon him ; and he giveth them their meat in due season. He 
openeth his hand, and satisfieth the desire of every living 
thing. In him all live, and move, and have their being. 
Men have food and raiment, seed-time and harvest, who nev- 
er ask God for them, or return him thanks when they are re- 



PRAYER AND ANSWER. 237 

ceived. But it is still true that prayer is the only channel 
of promise. " J.s^, and ye shall receive" is the only assurance 
that the commonest blessings of providence will be ours. 

And is it not true that God so loved the world that he 
gave to all his only-begotten Son ? and did not Jesus by the 
grace of God taste death for every man? did he not die for 
the ungodly, for sinners, and for his enemies? That is all 
true. Jesus is God's unspeakable gift to the whole human 
race. God is no respecter of persons; and all men, through 
grace, have an equal right to his provisions of recovering 
mercy. But while this is so, the saving benefits of Christ's 
atonement — pardon, holiness, and heaven — can never be ap- 
propriated unless we ask for them in God's appointed way. 
Here, too, "Ask, and ye shall receive," is the only pledge of 
God's blessings of grace. 

As he is faithful that has promised, every thing needful 
in providence or grace is vouchsafed to believing prayer. 
No prayer of faith, since the first promise made to man that 
the seed of the woman should bruise the serpent's head, has 
ever been lost, or can, by any possibility, be lost. The an- 
swer is sure. For all the promises of God in Christ are 
yea, and in him amen. The answer will come at some time 
or other. It may not come when we expect it ; it may not 
come in the way we desire it: yea, the specific thing asked 
may be withheld, but the answer is none the less certain. 
For withholding it may be the best and directest answer. 
God, who sees the end from the beginning, knows what is 
best. But even when he withholds, he gives more abundant 
compensation; he gives what is best, and what is most need- 
ed. Hence, ''Men ought always to pray, and not to faint,'" 
even though the answer be not immediately received, or 
come at a time and in a way we looked not for it. 

There are three things necessary to successful prayer. If 
they are observed, there will be no doubt that it will be 



238 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

heard and answered. We must be earnest, we must be im- 
portunate. The power of importunity is beautifully illus- 
trated by our Lord in the parable of the widow before the 
unjust judge. By her importunity she succeeded, and w'as 
avenged of her adversary. Her earnestness was the whole 
secret of success. And if importunity had such influence 
before a judge who feared not God, neither regarded man, 
" how much more shall God avenge his own elect, which cry 
day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?" 
" I tell you," said our Lord, " that he will avenge them 
speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of man cometh, shall 
he find faith on the earth?" 

But it is not enough that we be importunate. Something 
more is needed. And what that is our Lord illustrated by 
another parable. The Pharisee who thanked God that he 
was not as other men are was as much in earnest as the im- 
portunate widow. There was no more earnest sect than 
the Pharisees. They were so earnest in the observance of 
the law that they tithed mint and anise and cummin. One 
may be as earnest in parading his gifts as in making known 
his wants. The proud and self-righteous may importu- 
nately besiege Heaven's throne, demanding a recognition 
of his merits and an exchange of favors. Earnestness 
without humility may not only be absolutely worthless, 
but insufferably oflfensive. The despised publican, on whom 
the proud and earnest Pharisee looked down with the ut- 
most contempt, felt himself so unworthy that he stood afar 
off*, and would not lift up so much as eyes unto heaven, but 
smote upon his breast, saying, " God be merciful to me a 
sinner," This man went down to his house justified rather 
than the other. And why? Because he was humble as 
well as importunate. His sacrifice was the sacrifice of a 
broken heart and of a penitent and contrite spirit. And 
he was accepted : " For every one that exalteth himself 



PRAYER AND ANSWER. 239 

shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be 
exalted." Come, then, to God in prayer with the impor- 
tunity of the Avidow, but be sure that you come with the 
humility of the publican. 

But one may be both importunate and humble and yet 
need something as important — yea, more important — than 
importunity and humility. That something our Lord illus- 
trated by an incident which occurred as he ended the par- 
ables. "It happened just then that " they brought unto him 
also infants, that he should touch them ; but when his dis- 
ciples saw it, they rebuked them. But Jesus called them 
unto him, and said, Suffer little children to come unto me, 
and forbid them not; for of such is the kingdom of God. 
Verily I say unto you. Whosoever shall not receive the 
kingdom of God as a little child, shall in no wise enter 
therein." Who does not see that one may have the impor- 
tunity of the widow and the humility of the publican and yet 
■want the simplicity, the guilelessness, and implicit faith of 
a little child? Come, then, to God in prayer with the first 
and with the second requisite, but see to it that you are 
not wanting in the third. For the cry of the importunate 
and the humble may be the wail of despair. One may cry 
importunately, "God be merciful to me a sinner!" and 
feel it with keenest anguish. The sorrows of death may 
compass him ; the pains of hell may get hold upon him. 
But he will find only trouble and sorrow — though out of 
the depths he cry unto the Lord — unless he believes that 
gracious is the Lord and righteous; yea, our God is merci- 
ful, and he preserveth the simple; unless with the simplicity, 
the guilelessness, and the trust of a little child he receives 
the kingdom of God. AVhat more simple, guileless, confid- 
ing than an infant resting upon the breast of a fond and 
devoted mother? And yet that mother may become weary 
of the cry (jf lier sucking child. But our heavenly Father 



240 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

is never wearied by the cries of his earnest, humble, simple, 
confiding children. With what sweet and blessed assur- 
ance we may come to him when we come to him thus! 
For he is more willing to hear us and to grant our requests 
than earthly parents are to give goocl gifts unto their chil- 
dren. Reader, the application of the saying, ^'Men ought 
always to pray, and not to faint," is as wide and varied as 
are the real wants of the human soul. Pray always; pray 
without ceasing. "Be careful fornothing ; but in everything 
by prayer and supplication tuith thanksgiving, let your requests 
be made known unto God." Pray, and never faint; in due 
time you shall reap, if you faint not. Something more, 
which we have to say, must be reserved to the next chapter, 



CHAPTER XXI. 

OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 

OBJECTIONS to prayer have their foundation in un- 
belief. Faith never questions God's word, believing 
that he will not only supply every real want of the saints, 
but give strength to do his commands, even the most diffi- 
cult and seemingly impossible, as when he ordered Joshua, 
by walking around it, to take a strong city fortified by nat- 
ure and art. How could a walled city, defended by brave 
and warlike men, be taken by the means which the leader 
of the Israelitish host was required to employ? Without 
scaling-ladders, or battering-rams, or catapults, or engines 
of war of any kind, and without assault, the Hebrew com- 
mander was ordered to wrest Jericho from its powerful 
king and his mighty men of valor. And yet " hy faith the 
walls of Jericho fell down^ after they were compassed about 
seven days.'* Faith, when it is in want, looks to God for 
its supply, and takes no thought for the morrow. And 
when God commands it obeys, confident that he will fur- 
nish the means, point out the way, and give all needed 
grace. 

Two arguments we purpose to notice upon which certain 
cavilers confidently rely to sustain their objections to prayer. 
It is contended, first, that often prayer has required, and 
does now require, the impossible — namely, changes in the 
ordinary course of nature; and, second, that he who, accord- 
ing to the Christian religion itself, is unchangeable, must 
liimself change before he can answer prayer. These objec- 
tions against the Christian idea of prayer and answer are 
IG (241) 



242 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

the objections of unbelief. For they are not so much aimed 
against the prayers of believers as against the supreme person- 
al God to whom believers pray. They lie against a divine 
revelation which claims to have been confirmed by mira- 
cles that were unmistakably interferences with the ordinary 
course of nature. For if it be granted that there is a su- 
preme personal God, that he is the Almighty Creator of 
the universe, upholding all things by the word of his power, 
and prescribing the laws by which all material things in 
earth and sky are governed, there is no one who would say 
that it is impossible for bim to suspend or alter his own 
laws. Admit his creative, directive, and omnific power, 
and who will say that if he suspend a single law he must 
effectually and destructively interfere with the order and 
harmony of the universe? If certain laws hold a revolv- 
ing planet in its orbit, cannot the Almighty Creator, who 
gives to those laws all their force, temporarily suspend 
them, and, in some other way equally effective, preserve 
that planet's orbit, and yet not interfere with the operations 
of the other parts of almost limitless systems? Has he 
not power, if it so please him, not only to suspend the laws, 
but the planet itself, and yet not interrupt the movements 
of any other? If there be no supreme Almighty Creator, 
neither the one nor the other can be done ; but if there be, 
it is as easy for him to do either as to have created the 
planet, given it motion, and started it upon its orbit. If 
by the mere word of his power he can speak a world into 
being, and give it law^s, is it ever afterward beyond his 
power to direct its movements or make in them the slightest 
alterations? Has the God of nature no power over nature 
to control its operations? Is the creature, as soon as it is 
created, independent of its Creator? Then has he made 
something as great as or greater than himself; then is the 
matter which he has made as unchangeable and as eternal 



OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 243 

as himself. Is the thing formed as great as or greater than 
he who formed it? Is gross matter equal to the ethereal 
Spirit, or intelligent Mind, that created it? Is a watch of 
curious mechanism that tells the hours equal to the senti- 
ent being whose genius cunningly contrived it, nicely ad- 
justed its parts, and then set it going? If the contriver is 
greater than the watch, then is the Almighty Creator of 
the unr\'erse infinitely greater than the universe. For the 
maker of the watch uses substances already in being; he 
has created not the minutest particle that enters into it. 
But the God of the Bible said, "Light be, and light was." 
By his omnific word " things which are seen were not made 
of things which do appear." And has not he who has 
power to create power to destroy? In his great laboratory 
of nature can he not proceed either by synthesis or by 
analysis at his own will ? And if he has power to destroy, 
has he not power to change, to modify, or to suspend? 
And if so, has he not power to so modify the course of nat- 
ure that some one of its so-called laws may be for a time 
suspended, and yet the general order receive no detriment? 
AVe say so-called laws; for what are they, after all, but the 
intelligent will of the Almighty One, everywhere present, 
upholding and directing all things? What are the laws 
of the land in which we live but the will of its supreme 
law-making power? Are its laws so arbitrary and fixed 
that they cannot be annulled or modified or suspended? 
Has not even habeas corpus been suspended? and has not 
its suspension sometimes been the only means of preserving 
the very liberties which, for a time, it restrained? And 
what are the laws, both physical and moral — for God is 
supreme and absolute in both domains — which he has made 
for the government of the universe, but his own sovereign 
and potential will? 

All matter has just the properties and characteristics 



244 ELIJAH VINDICATED, 

which God gives it. He has given to every seed and to all 
matter a body or a form as it hath pleased him. Hence 
the difference in the flesh of animals ; hence the difference 
between bodies celestial and bodies terrestrial; hence the 
endless variety in material things. Has he given to every 
body its own properties according to his sovereign pleasure, 
and can he not modify the properties of a single one with- 
out interfering v/ith any other of the same kind? Can he 
not do this without reducing all things to their original 
chaos? If for a great purpose he caused a single ax to 
swim upon water, what change did it make in the proper- 
ties of any other ax, or what disturbance did it cause in 
any other body of water? If he gave to a single handful 
of salt power to purify the waters of Jericho, and to make 
an unfruitful soil productive, did it affect any other salt, or 
make any other bitter waters sweet? There is not a mira- 
cle of the Old or New Testament Scriptures that caused 
any thing but a temporary change in the particular thing 
or things affected by it. All things else continued as God 
had fixed them ; there was not the slightest disturbance in 
the general order and harmony of the universe. 

But now not even must these or like modifications neces- 
sarily take place when God answers prayer. In the Script- 
ures God sometimes, in answer to prayer, did work miracles. 
This was done to serve some great purpose. It was done in 
attestation of some important, newly revealed truth, to con- 
firm the appointment of some heaven-sent messenger, or to 
s'how to the doubting the absolute and omnipotent power 
of the personal God of the Bible. It was done to confound 
Baalism. It was to show that the Lord God of Israel is 
the only living and true God. How could he do this un- 
less he revealed his power over the course of nature? If, 
therefore, he suspended a law, it was to demonstrate that 
his sovereign w-ill is the source of all law. And in no other 



OBJECTIONS ANSWERED, 245 



way could this be done. Take away from the Almighty 
Creator the right and the power to interfere with the ordi- 
nary course of nature, and you take away the only means 
by which he can prove his almightiness. If he interfere, 
it is to prove tliat the very fixedness of nature's laws is de- 
pendent upon his own will. And hence, by the very sus- 
pension, he proves that if he were to withdraw himself from 
nature, universal chaos would be the result. By his inter- 
ference — by his control over nature's laws demonstrated by 
their suspension — we now know that no power outside of 
himself can interrupt its course. We now have the surest 
pledge *of the stability of its laws. That God rules is the 
strongest evidence that all things will continue as they are. 
That he binds the sweet influences of the Pleiades, tliat he 
looses the bands of Orion, that he guides Arcturus with his 
sons, that he has said to the proud sea, "Thus far shalt 
thou gO; and no farther," and that the Lord God omnipo- 
tent reigneth, give to the believer the surest guarantee that 
the order and liarmony of the universe shall be preserved 
till the Lord God himself, by his mighty angel, swear that 
time shall be no more. 

That miracles were Avrought in answer to prayer no one 
will question who believes the Bible to be a revelation from 
God. That they are now wrought for the same or for any 
other object may or may not be true. It may be, as the 
revelation of God to man is closed, that they have served 
their purpose, and are no longer needed. They may have 
passed away forever; they may no more be sent in answer 
to prayer or otherwise. For there may be not a want of a 
saint of God that may not now be supplied without mira- 
cle. God may so order all things that all things work to- 
gether for good to them that love him, and yet not a sinijle 
one of nature's laws be changed. And hence the objection 
that prayer may involve a change in the ordinary course 



246 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

of nature does uot hold, no matter from what stand-point 
the objection comes. 

As applied to times preceding the close of revelation, the 
objection does not hold ; for if we credit revelation, changes 
in the ordinary course of nature, in ansv/er to prayer, were 
often made. To deny this is to deny revelation itself The 
connection between it and miracle is inseparable. To deny 
revelation is to deny miracle; to deny the latter is to deny 
the former ; to deny both is to deny the existence of a su- 
preme personal God. The three stand or fall together. Do 
away with the Bible, and you do away with miracle ; do 
away with miracle, and you do away with the Bible ; do 
away with the Bible, and you blot a supreme personal God 
out of the universe. 

And this objection to prayer holds not now; for no man 
can show that, since revelation was closed, a single true an- 
swer to prayer has been received involving a suspension of 
the ordinary course of nature. But if he could show it, 
if he could make out a clear case that to answer a certain 
j)rayer — which was truly answered — S3nie lav/ of nature 
must have been suspended, and t^ierefore, in ths objector's 
judgment, could not have been answered, still the objection 
is not a good one. For if the suspensions recorded in the 
Bible were true suspensions, then it is no more impossible 
for God, if he see fit, to suspend nature's laws now than 
in Old and New Testament times. 

It is contended, second, that as God, according to the 
Christian belief, is unchangeable, he cannot be affected by 
prayer; for then must he change, which would be a con- 
tradiction in terms. What is unchangeable, it is said, can- 
not change. Cavilers flippantly use this as if it were an 
argument irresistibly conclusive. But it is no argument 
at all ; it is unworthy of the name. It is indeed a truism, 
if the terms are used in all regards as direct opposites. But 



OBJECTIONS ANSWEBED. 247 

they may be opposite only in certain regards, ^vhile in cer- 
tain others they may both be predicated of the same person. 
One, for instance, is said to be unchangeable who is always 
true to principle ; and yet to be true to principle may in- 
volve a change of convictions. A man who is always true 
to his convictions will be sure to change the moment he 
finds he is in the wrong. He is not so unchangeable that 
he cannot change. In no way can he who is true to prin- 
ciple, and has the courage of his convictions, show his un- 
changeableness so well as in the fact that he has the wis- 
dom and the courage to change when he ought. And in 
nothing is God so consistent with his attribute of immut- 
ability as in the fact that he is changed by prayer. The 
wisest and most courageous, who is truest to principle, may, 
through human imperfection, know not when to change. 
But God, who knoweth all things, can never be in doubt. 
He is both changed by prayer and knows when to change. 
If he is not then changed, he is not immutable. And this 
is not a contradiction ; it is not even a paradox. To pre- 
serve his attribute of immutability, God must be consistent 
with all his other inalienable attributes, and especially w'ith 
tniih, with faithfulness to his promises. If he keep not his 
promises, he is not immutable. 

He has promised to reward the faithful and to punish 
the unfaithful. He has promised pardon to the penitent and 
wrath to the impenitent. He has promi-^od to give grace to 
the humble and to resist the proud. He has promised to lift 
upon the contrite the light of his reconciled countenance; 
and he has promised to keep his anger against the incorrigible. 
To be consistent with himself, he must be true to his promises ; 
to be true to his promises, he must hear and answer prayer; 
to hear and answer prayer, he must change, and thereby 
prove his unchangeablencss. And hence this very objection 
urged against prayer is tlie strongest argument in its favor. 



248 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

For if God is not changed by prayer, if by it his anger 
does not give place to reconciliation, then is he indeed 
fickle and changeable; then is he even untrue to his word. 
But, blessed be God ! he is true and faithful. He may be 
angry now; but if we repent and ask forgiveness, he will 
abundantly forgive. " If we confess our sins, he is faithful 
and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all 
unrighteousness." "Ask, and ye shall receive; seek, and 
ye shall find ; knock, and it shall be opened unto you." 
And the Lord is not slack concerning his promises, as some 
men count slackness; and his gifts and calling are without 
repentance. God has said it — and he will surely be true 
to his word — that, in answer to the prayer of the contrite, 
he will turn his wrath into peace, and the love of pity — 
which he always keeps — into the love of complacency. 
And he does not repent of the promise. For he is the 
same yesterday, to-day, and forever. But this he could not 
be if he cannot be changed by prayer. 

A fond and w^ise parent is the same, both when he looks 
with pity upon an erring, rebellious, and obstinate boy, and 
with complacency when he returns, confesses his sins, and, 
with penitential tears, pleads for forgiveness. But in one 
sense he is changed. He is the same fond and wise father; 
but, affected by the conduct of the boy, he is displeased 
when he sins, and pleased when he repents. Thus it is with 
God toward the returning, repenting prodigal. The prayer 
of the humble and contrite does not so change him as to 
make him a different God. But it does change his feel- 
ings toward and his dealings with him. For surely recon- 
ciliation is a different thing from wrath ; the love of com- 
placency from the love of pity. And this is indeed a great 
and radical change; it is a change in God toward the pen- 
itent petitioner who asks his forgiveness — a change which 
never would have taken place if the prodigal had not con- 



OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 249 

fessed his sins and asked for pardon. God remains the 
same unchanged God, forgiving the penitent and condemn- 
ing the impenitent. Not a divine attribute, either when he 
forgives or when he condemns, undergoes the slightest mod- 
ification. All the attributes are kept in perfect harmony. 
And never are they more in harmony than when, in an- 
swer to the prayer of the humble and penitent, he changes 
from condemnation to reconciliation, blotting out the sen- 
tence of death against him, writing pardon upon his heart, 
taking him to his loving embrace, and turning an alien and 
rebel into a son and heir. If God gives when we ask, and 
withholds when Ave do not ask, then is he changed by prayer. 
And it is a change which attests the unchangeableness of 
his attributes. 

If, then, God gives when we ask, and withholds when we 
do not ask, is he not changed by prayer? And is it not a 
change which proves unchanging faithfulness to his word? 
The truth of God has said, "The soul that sinneth, it shall 
die;" and justice demands the execution of the sentence. 
But the love of pity provided such a full and complete sat- 
isfaction to their demands that mercy and truth meet to- 
gether, and righteousness and peace kiss each other. And 
now as God can be true to truth and justice, and yet pardon 
the humble and penitent sinner, he promises, if, by faith, he 
accepts the sacrifice of his only-begotten Son, to grant him 
pardon for his sins, cleansing for his guilt, and to turn pity 
into complacency. For this pardon and cleansing and com- 
placency both God's truth and justice, equally with mercy 
and love, are now pledged. And is it not a mighty change 
that the faithfulness of God and the justice of God have 
become their guarantees? But these guarantees — such is 
God's plan of salvation — are guarantees only to those who 
plead for mercy, and offer the prayer of penitence and faith. 
To the impenitent and unbelieving God is always unrecou- 



250 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

ciled ; to the penitent and believing he becomes reconciled. 
And this change from the one to the other is effected by- 
prayer — and by prayer alone — not as the instrumental 
cause, or any cause whatever, but because God has made 
the prayer of faith the only channel through which he prom- 
ises to convey to the sinning the blessings of sins pardoned, 
the joy of salvation, and a place in an offended Father's 
complacent love. 

The objection that prayer proposes a change in the un- 
changeable has been answered. In a word, he is unchange- 
able when he is changed by prayer; if he is not changed by 
it, then is he untrue, and, therefore, changeable. 

Before we dismiss the objections to prayer, which we have 
been considering, we must return a moment to the first ob- 
jection — namely, it may involve changes in the ordinary 
course of nature. 

We said that God may now perform no miracle in an- 
swer to prayer. This may be so, and yet there is nothing 
in the New Testament which precludes it. If it is not now 
done, it is because it is unnecessary. But if it were, he 
could and would as easily do it at this day as ever before. 
Were it essential to fulfill a promise, it would surely be done. 
For nothing can possibly stand in the way of a single promise 
to his saints. No physical law would be allowed for a single 
moment to stand in the way of its fulfillment. Indeed, to 
alter a physical law is with God absolutely nothing, com- 
pared M'ith altering a single moral law. The one may be 
altered, and God be still unchangeable; but if the other, 
then God's attribute of immutability would be seriously af- 
fected. A change in a physical law may involve no change 
in character or attribute, while every change in a moral 
law affects both. Hence it is literally easier for a camel to 
go through the eye of a needle — for he who can subdue all 
things to himself may so modify the properties and rela- 



OBJECTIONS ANSWERED, 251 

tioDs of these material objects as to make it possible — than 
for a rich man, one >vho fixes his affections supremely on 
riches, to enter into the kingdom of heaven. For God must 
be untrue to his word, and do violence to his attribute of ho- 
liness, if he take to heaven an unclean idolater; and such is 
he who loves riches more than God. For God hath sworn 
that no idolater shall enter into the kingdom of heaven ; 
that nothing out of harmony with it, and with himself, shall 
enter there. And God must deny himself, if he let any 
thing hinder the fulfillment of a single promise to the least 
of his saints. Heaven and earth must sooner pass away 
than a single promise of God fail. 

But while, perhaps, it may never again, as in Old and 
Kew Testament times, be necessary for God to change the 
course of nature to fulfill a single promise to the prayer of 
faith, it is no less true that he now gives answer to prayer 
almost, if not quite, as marvelous as if miracles were wrought 
in answer to it. Thousands on thousands of God's saints 
can testify to this truth. The world is full of examples. 
There is not a true saint of God who does not know that 
God is a hearer and answerer of prayer. For the very fact 
that he is a saint, and that he has the knov»'ledge of it, is to 
liim proof positive that prayer is heard and answered. The 
assurance of sins forgiven, peace with God through Christ, 
the witness of the Spirit, the joy of salvation, rest in trouble, 
the patience of hope, victory over sin, grace to resist tempta- 
tion, strength and courage to do, to suffer, and to rejoice in 
tribulation, have satisfied millions that God's ear is open to 
the cry of faith. And though no miracle be wrought, the 
Christian none the less believes that God is his Shepherd ; 
that every good and perfect gift cometh from the Father of 
mercies; that God chooses his changes, orders his steps, and 
supplies his wants. To many special interpositions of provi- 
dence he can confidently appeal. No miracle may be per 



252 ELTJAH VINDICATED. 

formed to supply the needs of God's dear children, yet 
thousands can testify that God supplied them as surely as 
he fed Elijah by the brook Cherith, at Zarephath, and un- 
der the juniper-tree. Many a widow is just as sure that God 
furnished her with food as though the meal had been mi» 
raculously multiplied in the barrel and the oil in the cruse. 
Many a saint of God in want has been as truly supplied as 
Elijah by ravens at the brook Cherith. 

But it may be asked, Do not the wicked sometimes have 
like marvelous deliverances? Grant that they have. The 
unbeliever has not prayed for them ; the believer has. The 
unbeliever does not recognize God as the deliverer, and give 
him thanks; the believer knows that it is the Lord's doings, 
they are marvelous in his eyes, and for them he presents 
the sacrifice of a grateful and thankful heart. Besides, let 
it be remembered that God, if he interfere without prayer 
in behalf of the ungodly, does it that his goodness and mer- 
cy may lead to repentance, and to faith in Christ. And, 
after all, the interposition may not have been without 
prayer, but in direct ansv/er to the prayer of a pious mother 
or wife, or friend, or pastor, or the Church of God. 

Krumraacher gives us a beautiful incident, which came 
under his own observation, and under the observation of 
his parishioners, in the valley of Barmen. Remarking that 
there is no end to God's wonders, even at this day, he adds: 
" Who was it but the God of Elijah w^ho, only a short time 
ago, in our neighborhood, so kindly delivered a poor man 
out of distress — not indeed by a raven, but by a poor sing- 
ing-bird? You are acquainted with the circumstances. The 
man was sitting, early in the mxorning, at his house-door ; his 
eyes were red with Aveeping, and his heart cried to Heaven — 
for he was expecting an officer to come and distrain him 
for a small debt. And whilst sitting thus with his heavy 
heart, a litle bird flew through the street, fluttering up and 



OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 253 

down, as if in distress, until at length, quick as an arrow, it 
flew over the good man's head into his cottage, and perched 
itself on an empty cupboard. The good man, who little im- 
agined who had sent him the bird, closed the door, caught 
the bird, and placed it in a cage, where it immediately be- 
gan to sing very sweetly, and it seemed to the man as if 
it were the tune of a favorite hymn, ' Fear not thou when 
darkness reigns;' and as he listened to it he found it soothe 
and comfort his mind. Suddenly some one knocked at his 
door. 'Ah, it is the officer! ' thought the man, and was sore 
afraid. But no, it was the servant of a respectable lady, 
who said that the neighbors had seen a bird fly into his 
house, and she wished to know if he had caught it. 'O yes,' 
answered the man, 'and here it is;' and the bird was carried 
away. A few minutes after the servant came again. ' You 
have done my mistress a great service,' said he; 'she sets a 
high value upon the bird which had escaped from her. She 
is much obliged to you, and requests you to accept this trifle 
Avith her thanks.' The poor man received it thankfully, and 
it proved to be neither more nor less than the sum he owed. 
And when the officer came, he said : ' Here is the amount of 
the debt; now leave me in peace, for God has sent it me.' " 
John L. Jerry was a traveling preacher in the South Car- 
olina Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church at a 
time when that Conference embraced the States of South 
Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. He was a man full of 
faith and the Holy Ghost, and much devoted to the itiner- 
ant ministry. At one time he was sent to a large and new 
circuit in Florida. In this frontier country there were then 
but very few settlers, and they were poor, unable to sup- 
port him if they were willing, and unwilling if they were 
able. One day he was riding on horseback by a lonely 
l)ath that led through the woods. Seeing nothing but star- 
vation before him if he remained on his work, he stopped 



254 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

his horse, and began to reflect on the cheerless prospect be- 
fore him. While debating the question whether he should 
proceed to his appointment or give up his charge and re- 
turn home, it was suggested to him to dismount, and retire 
to a thicket of small w^ater-oaks in a hammock a few paces 
from the road. Obeying the impulse, he dismounted, went 
to the thicket, and threw himself upon his knees. He went 
there to pray. But why not pray at the place where he got 
down from his horse? There Avas not a house, and perhaps 
not a human being, within ten or twenty miles. But no — 
he could not j)ray there; the thicket of oaks w^as the ap- 
pointed place. Alone in that closet, and with its door 
shut, he communed with God, and talked with him as one 
talks face to face w^ith his friend. He told all his com- 
plaint, and asked what he must do — whether he should 
return home or whether he should remain ; and if he re- 
mained, whether God would promise to provide for hhn. 
The auswer came. The God whose servant he was, and 
who had called him into the itinerant ministry, assured 
hira — so he was persuaded — ^that he would be with him, 
and never forsake him. The itinerant preacher was made 
unspeakably happy ; he had the witness of God's approval, 
and the pledge of his providential care. There was not a 
doubt on his mind that God had spoken to him, and prom- 
ised that his presence should go with him. In the act of 
rising from his knees he opened his eyes, which had been 
closed while he communed with God, and, lo, there on the 
ground was something which arrested his attention.. He 
picked it up. It was an old Spanish doubloon, worth about 
twenty dollars in United States currency. It bore a date 
which showed that, in all probability, it was dropped there 
nearly three hundred years before by some Spaniard when 
De Soto and his party traversed the wilds of Florida, 
and by that very route, in the early days of the discovery 



OBJECTIONS AXSWEFED. 255 

of America. There, we believe, God watched over it; and 
there it remained until he was ready to use it for the sup- 
ply of his servant's need. At all events, John L. Jerry so 
believed and so received it. He went on his way rejoicing, 
resolved to continue at his post. 

The writer has given the above as it was confirmed to 
him by the late Eev. Samuel Anthony of precious memory, 
who knew John L. Jerry well, and heard it from his lips. 
The following we tell just as we heard it more than once — 
in the pulpit and out of the pulpit— from the mouth of the 
Rev. James O. Andrew, D.D., LL.D., who was, at the time 
of his death, senior Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church, South, and who vouched for its truth. 

In one of our Southern Conferences was a preacher, who 
had a daughter in young womanhood who was sick unto 
death, and was expected every moment to breathe her last. 
She had, for some time before, been seeking the witness of 
God's Spirit to assure her of the Divine acceptance. The 
old father had been praying with and for her, beseeching 
God to give to his beloved child the blessing she was seek- 
ing. Leaving her bedside when she was manifestly dying, 
and without the witness, he went to his closet to wrestle 
with God in prayer, that, before taking his child out of the 
world, he would give to her the needed evidence of accept- 
ance. The old man arose from his knees, and sat down in 
his chamber in calm and certain assurance that God had 
graciously heard and answered his prayer. AVhen one 
from the dying girl came into the room where he was and 
told him that she was almost gone, he asked, "Has she ob- 
tained the witness?" " Xo," was the answer. "Nancy 
will not die yet," was the confident reply of the man of 
God. Tiiis was repeated several times, like questions and an- 
swers being asked and given, with the single difference that 
the maiden was rapidly drawing nearer and nearer to the 



256 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

final moment. At last to the question, " How is Nancy?" it 
was answered, " She is dead." " Did she obtain the wit- 
ness?" "No." The instant reply of faith was: "Then 
Nancy is not dead ! " And so saying the gray-haired old 
father arose and went to the bedside of his child. There 
lay, to all appearances, her lifeless corpse, cold in death. 
Kind friends were proceeding to prepare her for the burial, 
when the old preacher interposed, and put them aside, 
saying : " Let her alone ; she is not dead." The sorrowing 
and sympathizing friends who were present did not laugh 
him to scorn as certain Jews derided the Master when, at 
the bedside of Jairus's daughter, he said : " Give place ; for 
the maid is not dead, but sleepeth." But they were ten- 
derly solicitous, fearing lest the death of his beloved child 
had unsettled the old father's mind. Nothing could move 
him from his purpose that they should not touch her. For 
hours the watchers silently waited, far more concerned about 
the old preacher's aberration of mind than about the death of 
his daughter. As he sat and waited, perfectly calm, and with 
unwavering faith that God had given him a promise, and 
would be true to his word, his beloved Nancy, not unex- 
pectedly to himself, but unexpectedly to all others present, 
suddenly opened her eyes. The tongue of the maiden was 
unloosed ; praises to God from her lips filled the chamber, 
and astonished all except the man of strong faith. Nancy 
had received the witness of the Spirit, and was rejoicing 
v/ith joy unspeakable, and full of glory. "Now," said the 
old father, made equally happy by the joy of his darling, 
and the knowledge that God was true to his promise, " Nan- 
cy will die." And in a little while the maiden, who had 
fallen into a state of suspended animation having all the 
appearance of death, did die; and while her mouth was yet 
filled with laughter and her tongue with singing, she went 
from the chamber of death to join the white-robed choir 



OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 257 

who sing the song of Moses and the Lamb around the 
throne of God in heaven. 

Reader, have you ever seen a cyclone? If not, have 
you followed in its track, just after it carried ruin and death 
in its train? If you have neither seen one nor the track 
of one, you have doubtless read of its ravages in many 
parts of the Southern and Western States of the Ameri- 
can Union as it swept in destructive fury and power over 
the regions which it visited. Give loose reins to your im- 
agination; conceive of the greatest destruction possible; 
double what you have conceived, and you are below the 
reality. The writer has been uncomfortably near to one 
more than once. Often has he seen, after the event, the 
desolations they have made. Giant oaks and tall and im- 
mense pines were uprooted and handled as easily as one 
handles jack-straws, and scatters them when thrown from 
the hand. 

One day in South-eastern Georgia a Methodist preacher, 
seated in a buggy, was driving a young and fractious horse. 
His road, which was in an unfrequented part of the coun- 
try, was three narrow paths, such as may be seen in that 
region — one for the horse and two for the wheels, the space 
between being overgrown with low shrubbery and wire- 
grass. On one side of the road was a virgin forest of tall 
and huge pines, many at least nine feet in circumference 
and nearly one hundred feet in height; on the other side, 
next to the road and parallel to it, was a rail-fence, inclos- 
ing one side of a large field that had been originally such 
as was the native forest. This field was full of dead pines 
ready to fall and abounding in rotten limbs. The road 
ran by the side of the fence for nearly a mile, and was so 
close to it as barely to leave room for a vehicle to pass. 
AVhen the preacher had gone some distance along this road, 
suddenly there was heard an ominous roaring, betokening 
17 



258 ELIJAH VINDICATED, 

the near approach of the cyclone. Seeing that he was in 
its track, that it was about to burst in upon him without a 
way of escape, the man of God stopped his horse; and, still 
seated in his buggy, but with heart uplifted to God in 
prayer, awaited its coming. In a moment the unchained 
fury, careering in its madness, came rushing on, breaking 
limbs and uprooting trees. Not a tree in its course, living 
or dead, on either side of the road, was left standing. On 
and on it Avent, howling, roaring, crashing, sweeping all 
things before it, and tossing and whirling them about as 
easily as an ordinary gale tosses and whirls about feathers 
shaken out of a bag. While the fierce cyclone was pass- 
ing by and over him, the preacher's young and fractious 
horse stood as gentle as if eating in his stall, and the man 
of God was as calm and peaceful as if sitting, on a quiet 
day, at his own hearth -stone with wife and children around 
him. Not a hair of his head was hurt; not the smallest 
limb or twig struck either him or his horse. On the side 
next to the field every rail of the fence— even to the bot- 
tom or worm rail, as it is called — was swept away except 
the two panels that lay along-side of his horse and buggy ; 
and from them not a single rail had been taken. In front, 
in the rear, to the right, and to the left, and almost touch- 
ing his horse and buggy, uprooted trees and broken trunks 
and limbs were piled up, forming a wall around him. He 
was shut in, but saved and unharmed. 

That preacher is still living. More than tw^enty years 
ago the writer, who was then presiding elder on the Athens 
District, in what was then the Georgia Annual Conference, 
heard him tell it, in a sermon on special providence, at 
Wheat's Camp-ground, in Lincoln county. Never will the 
writer forget the impression the preacher's narrative made 
upon himself and upon the great congregation. He told it 
with artless simplicity — for Hezekiah Bussey is as guileless 



OBJECTIONS ANSWERED, 259 

as a child — with the big tears coursing down his honest 
and sun-burned face, with a heart full of love to God and 
man, with the strongest faith in a special providence, and 
with deepest gratitude to him who hears and answers 
prayer. 

But God cannot hear and answer prayer, forsooth, be^ 
cause it interferes with the ordinary course of nature, and 
changes the unchangeable! Was not withholding the rain 
and dew for three years and six months, and their return 
in answer to Elijah's prayers, interferences with the ordi- 
nary course of nature? Was there no such interference 
when fire came down from God out of heaven upon his 
sacrifice on Carmel? none when, with one stroke of his 
mantle, he divided the waters of the Jordan? none when 
he raised to life again the dead son of the widow woman at 
Zarephath? and none when he ascended to heaven in a 
chariot of fire? And was not God changed by prayer 
when Abraham pleaded for the wicked cities of the plain ? 
and when Moses turned God from his purpose to blot out 
Israel, and make him the head of a new and mightier na- 
tion ? and when repenting Nineveh caused him to relent 
and turn away from his fierce anger? and when Hezekiah 
prolonged his forfeited life by fifteen years? But why 
multiply examples so abundant both in the Old and the 
New Testament Scriptures? The believer knows, what- 
ever may be the objections of unbelievers, that his prayers 
are heard and answered when he prays with the importu- 
nity of the widow before the unjust judge, the humility of 
of the publican, and the guilelessness, the simplicity, and 
the unquestioning faith of a little child, provided always 
that what he asks is within the promises, is best, and ac- 
cording to the will of God. And he knows the diflference 
— no matter what it is called; call it change of relations or 
anything else — between an offended God and a reconciled 



260 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

Father, between his condemnation and the witness of his 
Spirit, and between conviction and the love of God shed 
abroad in the heart by the Holy Ghost given unto him. 

We have seen that Elijah was a man mighty in prayer. 
This he could not have been unless he had been also mighty 
in faith. And such he was. It was his unwavering faith 
that gave such efficacy to his prayers. No man indeed has 
ever especially prevailed with God in prayer who has not 
been especially distinguished for faith ; for faith is the only 
thing which God honors, and it is always honored in pro- 
portion to its strength. To it the most important of the 
divine revelations were disclosed ; and by it were the great- 
est discoveries in the material and spiritual ^vorld revealed 
in the Old Testament Scriptures. And as it was by it — 
even before Elijah's day — " the elders obtained a good re- 
port," we purpose to devote the next chapter to its early 
and great discoveries. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

faith's discoveries. 

FAITH in God through Christ has ever been the great 
and only want of the human soul. It was so from the 
beginning. For the only difference between an Old and a 
New Testament saint is the one believed in Messias to come, 
and the other in Messias come. It is humanity's great want ; 
for it is the foundation of all true religion, and the basis of 
all acceptable worship. Without it, " it is impossible to please 
God; for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and 
that he is a reivarder of them that diligently seek him." And 
it is its only want ; for it supplies all wants. The believer is 
Christ's ; and if Christ's, then a son and heir of God, and a 
joint-heir with Christ. All things are his ; all things are for 
his sake; and all things work together for his good. What 
else is needed? The Lord is his shepherd; he shall not 
want. 

It is remarkable that in all the Scriptures the only defini- 
tion of faith is in the first verse of the eleventh chapter of 
'Hebrews : " Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the 
evidence of things not seen." For this is a comprehensive 
definition of faith, and not, as some say, a mere encomium. 
And it is saving faith — faith in God through Jesus Christ, 
the promised Messias. So it has always been, is now, and 
ever shall be till faith is lost in sight. For never has sal- 
vation been in any other way. The apostle ascribes and ap- 
plies it only to those who already inherit the promises, and 
to those who are now running the gospel race, compassed 
about by the former as " a cloud of witnesses." To live and 

(261) 



262 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

die in this faith is the only entrance to the " city which hath 
foundations, whose builder and maker is God." 

It is "the substance" — the oTzdaraatq, from V7t6 and r<7r5j- 
lit — of " things hoped for." The word occurs only five times 
in the New Testament. Three times — 2 Cor. ix. 4, xi. 17, 
and Heb. iii. 14 — it is rendered confidence; once — Heb. i. 
3 — person; and here — Heb. xi. 1 — substance. It is literal- 
ly that which is put under for a support or foundation, as 
under a building. And as the foundation imparts strength, 
solidity, stability, it gives confidence, being, substance, re- 
ality. Applied to " things hoped for," faith in God through 
Christ is that upon which they rest ; it is their foundation, 
their substance — that which gives to them being, existence, 
permanence. 

And it is "the evidence" — eXey^oq — "of things unseen." 
It is evidence, but it is evidence producing conviction, a 
firm persuasion. Its effect is like the demonstration of a 
problem in Euclid. The divine elenchcs is unquestioned by 
the believer, because to him it has all the force of a demon- 
stration. And as applied to "things unseen," he is per- 
suaded of them, he embraces them, he has the conviction 
that they exist, are real and sure. And so complete is this 
conviction that he lives with reference to them, and acts 
upon them, as if they were cognizable by the senses; as 
if they could be seen with the eyes and touched with the 
hands. 

This faith in God embraces him as he has successively re- 
vealed himself to man — as EloJiim, or the almighty Creator 
and E-uler of the universe; as Jehovah, or the Elohim re- 
vealed — the Manifest God — the only self-existent, personal, 
and Holy One — a Spirit, and the Father of spirits — the 
covenant-making and covenant-keeping God, the loving Fa- 
ther, the gracious Redeemer, the faithful Guide, the tender 
Shepherd, who feeds, leads, watches over, and defends his 



faith's discoveries. 263 

flock ; as Jehovah-Elohiin, the one ever-living and true God, 
uniting in himself all that is revealed of Elokim and Jeho- 
vah ; as the God-man, Elohiin and Jehovah manifest in the 
flesh, the Angel of the Covenant, the Shiloh, the Messias, 
the Saviour of the world, Emmanuel, the Everlasting 
Father, the Prince of Peace, the great and mercifLil High- 
priest, and the Judge of quick and dead ; as God the Ho- 
ly Spirit, who convinces, convicts, converts, comforts, en- 
lightens, teaches, bears witness to the believer's acceptance 
with God, helps, directs, purifies, sanctifies, fits for heaven, 
and puts into its possession ; and as God the Father, God 
the Son, and God the Holy Ghost, three persons, and but 
one only living and true God. For as all this was known 
to the inspired apostle who gave the definition w^e are con- 
sidering, the whole was embraced in the faith of a believer 
in his day. But how much was revealed to the Old Testa- 
ment worthies we do not know ; but we do know that enough 
was revealed of ]\Iessiah-God to make their worship accept- 
able, and give saving efficacy to their faith. For all faith 
in the revealed God of the Scriptures, however gradual and 
progressive the revelation — at what stage soever of it, and 
by whomsoever received— was always faith in Messias prom- 
ised, and therefore saving, as was Abel's. Faith in God 
that came short of faith in Messias was no faith at all; it 
was not that which the apostle defines. For the whole Epis- 
tle to the Hebrews, of which the eleventh chapter is, in part, 
the conclusion, is to show that not only is Christ superior 
to Moses, to Aaron, and to angels, but that he is God— the 
Elokim and the Jehovah of the Old Testament. Wherefore 
the believer's faith now comprehends not only the Elohistic, 
or abstract idea of God in Elokim, but the Jehovistic, or con- 
crete, ])ersonal idea in Jehovah, and in God the Son and 
God the Holy Ghost— the Triune God of a completed reve- 
lation. And if so, " things hoped for " and " things unseen " 



264 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

now include all the promises of the Triune God, as they too 
were gradually and progressively revealed. Abel had before 
him neither all that God revealed of himself, nor of things 
to come, that Abraham had; Abraham knew not all that 
rapt Isaiah knew ; nor could Isaiah, although his lips were 
touched with a live coal from the altar, tell all that was dis- 
closed to St. John. But Abel received by faith all that was 
revealed to him — so of Abraham, so of Isaiah, and so of St. 
John. And yet all things embraced in the promises, from 
first to last, known or unknown, revealed or unrevealed, 
Avere no more St. John's than they were Isaiah's, or Abra- 
ham's, or Abel's. If God has "provided some better thing 
for us" — if we have seen the fulfillment of promises that 
Avere unfulfilled to them — and if the Old Testament saints 
" without us " could " not be made perfect," yet are they equal 
heirs of the promises. For every believer in the Lord's vine- 
yard, from Abel till now, receives every man his penny. 

Now as " things hoped for " and " things unseen " embrace 
all in the promises, they may all, at every stage of their dis- 
closure, be summarized and comprehended in three words — 
pardon, holiness, and heaven. For there is not a promise 
which does not have direct or indirect reference to the for- 
giveness of sins, final acquittal at the last day, restoration 
to the image of God in knowledge, righteousness, and true 
holiness, and to the inheritance of the saints in the heavenly 
Jerusalem. And there is not a promise of these that is not 
attended by some special promise, expressed or implied, to 
give all needed strength and grace to make them faith's, 
and faith's forever. The believer knows that his sins are 
forgiven for Christ's sake, and that if he remain faithful 
unto death, he will be justified, at the last day, in the pres- 
ence of men and angels. He is persuaded that he is created 
anew in Christ Jesus, that his blood cleanseth from all sin, 
and that he shall behold his face in righteousness and awake 



faith's discoveries. 265 

with his likeness. He knows that if the earthly house of his 
tabernacle be dissolved, he has a building of God, a house 
not made with hands, eternal in the heavens— that a city- 
is prepared for his reception, and a mansion for his abode. 
And as one here embarks on board a steamer, knowing that 
if he lives, if the winds and the seas are favorable, and there 
are no accidents by the way, he will, though he has never 
seen them, cast anchor in the Mersey, and with his own eyes 
behold the docks, and with his own feet walk the streets of 
Liverpool, the world's great commercial metropolis; so by 
faith the believer confidently expects, when he starts upon 
the heavenly voyage, if he continue loyal to his pilot, he 
will, safely guided over life's tempestuous seas, surely be- 
hold the city of God, walk its golden streets, see the King 
in his beauty, stand in the presence of the beatific vision, 
and be ever with and like his Lord. To him, even now, 
"things hoped for" and "things unseen," are no "cunningly 
devised fables," but substantial realities, confirmed by evi- 
dence having all the conviction and all the assurance of the 
most positive and approved demonstration. 

The entire eleventh chapter of Hebrews the apostle has 
devoted to the illustration of the faith which he defines. 
In that chapter of inimitable force and beauty — which has 
the strain and the ring of a battle-song of victory — are re- 
corded faith's trials and conflicts and triumphs, illustrated 
by the life and death of many an Old Testament worthy. 
And it is more than a record of these; it is an historic 
epitome of faith's discoveries, or of revelations successively 
made to it. For whether the apostle intended it or not, he 
has given the order of the most important divine disclos- 
ures affecting man's present and future, all of which were 
gradually and successively revealed to men of preeminent 
faith. The most distinguished were rewarded by the dis- 
covery or revelation of some new truth, or fact, undiscov- 



266 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

ered or unrevealed before. For the things affecting man's 
present and future were not made known at once. Neither 
did God at once disclose all of himself and his worship. 
Many were the disclosures he made of himself before he 
was God manifest in the flesh. And many were the 
changes in worship before the world was prepared for the 
announcement made by our Lord to the woman of Sa- 
maria at Jacob's well, in Sychar. It passed successively 
through altar, tabernacle, and temple, before every place 
sanctified by the prayers and faith of the worshiper be- 
came the house of God and the gate of heaven. The sim- 
ple patriarchal altar of heaped-up earth or unhewn stone 
gave place to the movable and deftly curtained tabernacle; 
the tabernacle itself disappeared before the more perma- 
nent and splendidly elaborated temple on Mount Zion ; and 
the temple itself, with its grand and imposing ritual, went 
down before the upper chamber, and the house of Mary 
the mother of Mark in Jerusalem, the house of Cornelius 
at Cesarea, the proseucha by the river-side near Philippi, 
and wherever the people met for prayer and praise and to 
hear the preached word. Thus gradual and progressive 
likewise were the disclosures made to faith. 

If one may so speak, there is a golden thread, strung 
with many a goodly pearl, running through the eleventh 
of Hebrews. Each pearl we call a new discovery of faith, 
or a new revelation made to it. Following up the thread, 
let us look at some of its precious pearls. 

The Book of God opens with the sublime declaration : 
"In the beginning God [£'/o/iim] created the heaven and 
the earth." In the plural Eloliim faith recognizes three 
persons — Father, Son, and Holy Ghost — for " the Spirit of 
God moved upon the face of the waters;" and by the Son 
"were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are 
in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or 



267 

dominions, or principalities, or powers ; all things were cre- 
ated by him, and for him; and he is before all things, and 
by him all things consist." In the singular verb hara — 
created, brought into existence something not previously 
existing, or into entity from nonentity — joined Avith the 
plural Elohim, it sees the Trinity in Unity, three Persons 
and one God. And in eth hashamayim veeth haarets — " the 
heaven and the earth " — it discerns the whole solar system, 
all things in sky and earth. For '' through faith we under- 
stand that the worlds loere framed by the word of God, so 
that things which are seen luere not made of things ivhich do 
appear." And so creation, by creation's great Author, was 
revealed to faith, and to faith alone. Faith first received 
it, faith first declared it, and hence, speaking popidariter^ 
faith first discovered it. 

It will be noticed that the creation, or genesis, of mate- 
rial things is not revealed to the faith of any one individ- 
ual of the human race. Through faith, not from reason- 
ing, we — that is, all believers — understand (vooD/zev, arrive 
at the perception) that the w^orlds (johq aiwvac;^ the material 
universe) were framed {xar-qp-iaOai, set in order, adjusted, 
arranged), not out of materials previously existing, but out 
of nothing; so that by the word of God Qprjiiari Osou, by 
the fiat of God) the material things which we see were 
brought into existence and arranged as they do now appear. 
This perception of the genesis of material things, coeval 
with the creation of man, and doubtless communicated to 
him by the Creator when he placed him in the garden, is 
received by all who have faith in God. It was no mere 
fancy which made England's great epic poet represent our 
first parents beginning thus their orisons in Eden : 

T/ie.He are thy glorious workn, Parent of good, 
Almighty/ Thine this universal frame, 
Thus wondrous Jair ; thyself how wondrous then, 



208 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

Unspeakable / ivho sitt'st above these heavens, 
To us invisible, or dimly seen 
In these thy lowest works; yet these declare 
Thy goodness beyond thought and power divine. 

For Milton was amoDg the ive who, through faith, under- 
stand that the worlds were framed by the word of God. 
And so all who receive inspiration's account of creation 
sing with the psalmist : 

By the word of the Lord were the heavens made ; 
And all the host of them by the breath of his mouth. 

For he spake, and it was done ; 
He commanded, and it stood fast. 

And faith accepts the whole record, especially what is said 
of the creation of man : "And the Lord God formed man 
of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the 
breath of life; and man became a living soul." Here in the 
Bible, and in the Bible alone, is the only true genesis of 
the material universe and of human life. To the omnific 
power of the almighty personal God of the Hebrew Script- 
ures faith ascribes all matter and all life, and not to blind 
chance, to first atoms, to molecules, or to protoplasm. Full 
grown, and perfect of body, and limb, and senses, and mind, 
and S2:>irit, came forth man from his Creator; and equally 
perfect the material things made ready for his uses. And 
the latter required no greater omnific power than the former. 
But suppose the full bones of the first man Adam were now 
in complete preservation, and in the hands of the modern 
evolutionist. He would tell us of the time when the em- 
bryo was in the mother's womb ; he would not only trace 
its development through infancy and childhood up to full 
manhood and old age, but he would tell us how the race 
from which the embryo sprung is traced back to the ape in 
ages millions of years before the Mosaic cosmogony. And 



faith's discoveries. 269 

yet the Scriptures, which have been confirmed to us by ten 
thousand signs following and producing the conviction of 
demonstration, assure us that the Lord God formed Adam 
out of the dust of the ground, breathed into his nostrils, 
the breath of lives^ and made him a living soul. 

Which shall we believe? Over three thousand years in- 
fidel science has been arrayed against the Holy Scriptures, 
but arrayed in vain. For never were the number of be- 
lievers so great upon the earth as at this day of advanced 
science. Once a single family, and once seven thousand, were 
all in Israel who had not bowed the knee to Baal; now 
the believers in the personal God of the Bible are num- 
bered by millions, embracing thousands of the noblest, the 
purest, the most cultured, and even the most scientific of 
earth. Who would change the revelation of God for the 
hypothesis of man? For what is the science which opposes 
the Bible but the mere hypothesis of the vain Ego? And 
what is the latest hypothesis? Is it final? is it positive? 
is it not soon to give place to another that shall itself short- 
ly be exploded? Take geology, the most fixed, the most 
confirmed of the sciences. Listen to the wail which came 
from a late gathering of the savans of modern science, that 
even in geology nothing positive is known; that what is 
now known is but an hypothesis, which further investiga- 
tions may utterly repudiate. And no wonder; because God 
alone can reveal to us the secret things of creation. He 
has revealed them to us, and by whom they were made; 
we receive the revelation, we acce^it it, and with implicit 
faith we act upon it. 

The infidel scientist who vainly believes that he alone is 
worthy to be classed among the number of " thinking men," 
though "continually forced into agnosticism" is "yet con- 
stantly forced into some solution of the Great Enigma," not- 
withstanding he " knows " that it " cannot be solved." Such 



270 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

is the late confession of Mr. Herbert Spencer. " Especially 
must this be so," he bewails, when one " remembers that the 
very notions, origin, causes, and purpose are relative notions 
belonging to human thought, which are probably irrelevant 
to the Ultimate Reality transcending human thought ; and 
when, though suspecting that explanation is a word without 
meaning when applied to this Ultimate Reality, he yet feels 
compelled to think there must be an explanation." If this 
be agnosticism, it is confined to labor in one eternal tread- 
mill; and the " Great Enigma" into whose solution it is 
" constantly forced," and the " Ultimate Reality " whose 
explanation it is incessantly compelled to seek, must forever 
deceive and elude its best and most persistent search. The 
thirst of Tantalus and the labors of Sisyphus in Grecian 
legend were as easy of gratification or performance as the 
struggles of the Egos of agnosticism to solve the " Great 
Enigma," and arrive at the "Ultimate Reality." After 
all, Mr. Herbert Spencer has recently confessed that ''one 
truth must grow ever clearer, the truth that there is an 
inscrutable Existence everywhere manifested, to which he 
can neither find nor conceive beginning or end. Amid the 
mysteries which become the more mysterious the more they 
are thought about, there will remain the one absolute cer- 
tainty, that he is ever in the presence of an infinite and 
eternal Energy, from which all things proceed." This " in- 
finite and eternal Energy " which the proud infidel Ego seeks, 
if haply he may feel after it and find it, but which, though 
it be not far from every one, he seeks in vain, faith discloses 
— the God that made the world and all things therein, the 
Lord of heaven and earth, who giveth to all life and breath 
and all things, and hath made of one blood all nations of 
men, for to dAvell on all the face of the earth, and hath de- 
termined the times before appointed, and the bounds of 
their habitation. 



faith's discoveries. 271 

What can modern infidel science give in exchange for 
Jehovah-God? What has the belief in molecules, proto- 
plasm, self-moved and self-posited atoms done for the human 
race in comparison with what faith in the Lord God of Is- 
rael has done for it? If faith in the personal God of the 
Bible be as baseless as a dream or fleeting vagary, it has 
inspired the loftiest and most heroic thoughts; it has ex- 
alted humanity ; it has given to millions victory over self; it 
has subdued dark and fierce passions ; it has changed the 
raging lion and the rapacious eagle into the patient lamb 
and gentle dove. It has made the vicious, the idle, the 
profligate, the thief, the seducer, the murderer, the perjured, 
the drunkard, and the abominable good, industrious, virtu- 
ous, honest, chaste, forgiving, true, sober, and pure. It has 
given peace to the guilty conscience, comfort in afliiction, 
rest in trouble, joy in sorrow, strength in temptation, confi- 
dence in man, love to our neighbor and to our enemy; be- 
nevolence, beneficence, and liberality toward the needy and 
distressed; hope in despair, and triumph over death. O 
what hath not faith in God wrought for the human family? 
If it is a delusion ; if there is no God ; if the soul is not im- 
mortal ; if there is no hereafter— no heaven, no hell ; if body 
and soul perish together at death ; if faith in God and in his 
only-begotten Son is a mere conjecture; if "things hoped 
for " and " things unseen " have neither foundation nor 
demonstration — is he a benefactor to his race who dispels 
the sweet delusion, who surrenders what has resulted in un- 
speakable blessings to millions to a cold, lifeless, unsympa- 
thizinghypothesis,which,if universally received, would make 
earth a pandemonium, a hell, a charnel-house, a Golgotha? 
If faith in God is a delusion, we will not exchange it for any- 
thing infidel scientists can offer. If it is a mere hypothesis, 
it is an infinitely better hypothesis than theirs. The be- 
liever in Jesus has rest in trouble here; and beyond the 



272 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

grave, if all be forgetfulness or annihilation, his fate, 
though he be but a simpleton here, will be no worse than 
that of the ablest infidel scientists there. For " their rock 
is not as our rock, even our enemies themselves being 
judges." For if ours be true and theirs false, they have 
no hope here or hereafter. If, then, the choice is between 
conjectures, give rae the conjecture which makes me better, 
happier, wiser, and more helpful to my fellow-sufferers in a 
life that shall end in one common oblivion. But, glory be 
to God, we follow no mere hypothesis! We believe, and 
therefore speak. And if the proud skeptic and infidel sci- 
entist would do what he challenges us to do — bring to the 
test of experiment, which its great Author demands, the 
truth of his religion — he too, as thousands of like opposers 
have found, would know of Christ's doctrine that it is of 
God, and not of man. For the Lord who answered by 
fire on Carmel, he is the God ! he is the God ! 

Whatever others may do, we avouch the God of Elijah 
to be our God, assured that the worlds were framed by his 
word, so that things which are seen were not made of things 
which do appear. Persuaded of things hoped for and of 
things unseen, and embracing them, we confess that we are 
pilgrims and strangers on the earth, desiring a better coun- 
try — that is, a heavenly. In the God of the Bible, and in 
all his revelations to man, we implicitly trust; and trust- 
ing, we both rest and act, agreeing with Kant, the greatest 
of German philosophers, at least in this, that " without a 
God, and without a world invisible to us now but hoped 
for, the glorious ideas of ethics may indeed be objects of 
approbation and admiration, but cannot be the springs of 
purpose and action." 

We have said that faith accepts the whole record God 
has made of the creation of man. It receives as truth that 
God made man in his own likeness; that he made him the 



faith's discoveries. 273 

subject of law ; that man, who was a free agent, disobeyed 
that law, lost the image of God, and incurred the death- 
penalty. Faith beholds him guilty, polluted, wretched, lost. 
It asks. How can the guilty be forgiven, the fallen be 
raised, the unclean be cleansed, the lost image be restored, 
the forfeited paradise be regained? It hears the voice of 
the Lord God in the garden pronouncing a curse upon the 
transgressors, and is sore afraid. But it hears the promise 
that the seed of the woman shall bruise the ser-pent's head, 
and takes courage. It believes God's word; it looks to the 
promised seed ; it looks and lives ! Faith discovers pardon 
for sin, and cleansing for guilt. It discovers the necessity 
and efficacy of the atonement ; it offers the sacrifice of a 
broken heart and contrite spirit; it cries, "God be merci- 
ful to me a sinner!" and is forgiven. For ^^ by faith Abel 
offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by 
which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testify- 
ing of his gifts; and by it he, being dead, yet speakethj^ 
And thus the second grand discovery of faith was made 
— that by faith in the promised Messias there is forgiveness 
for the humble and contrite. 

But the forgiven and accepted Abel, slain by his sinning, 
proud, and disappointed brother, dies, and dust returns to 
dust. This is the first death in the human family. "What 
became of Abel after death? Was it the last of him? If 
a man die, shall he live again ? Is there a soul separate 
from the body ? If so, does it perish with it ? or does it 
live on after death in another state of existence? And if 
there be a future for the soul, is there a future for the body? 
When worms destroy the body, when it undergoes the cor- 
ruption of the grave, when it is burned and returns to 
ashes and gases, can the scattered particles be collected to- 
gether again, and the body, which rotted in the grave or 
was consumed on the funeral-pyre, be restored? Faith in 
18 



274 ELIJAH VIXDICATED. 

God and his promises gives the ready answers. There is a 
resurrection for the soul, and there is a resurrection for the 
body. For " by faith Enoch ivas translated that he should 
not see death; and luas not found, because God had trans- 
lated him ; for before his translation he had this testimony, 
that he pleased God." 

The translation of Enoch disclosed to faith, for both soul 
and body, a future beyond the tomb. No human reason 
discovered it; faith alone discovered it when God bore 
Enoch, without dying, away from earth. It was afterward 
powerfully assured by Elijah's ascension in the chariot of 
fire; and it was forever confirmed by the triumph of the 
Lord Jesus over death and the grave, by his ascension to 
heaven, and by his promise that the dead v/ho sleep in him 
shall be raised with bodies "fashioned like unto his glorious 
body, according to the Avorking whereby he is able even to 
subdue all things unto himself." 

Glorious discovery of faith! What could never have 
been more than a conjecture is now a matter of certain rev- 
elation. The best and wisest of the old philosophers, apart 
from a divine revelation, only conjectured a future for the 
soul. It was Seneca who said : " It is that which our wise 
men do promise, but they do not prove." It Avas Socrates 
who said: "I hope to go hence to good men, but of that I 
am not very confident; nor doth it become any wise man 
to be positive that so it will be. I must now die, and you 
shall live ; but which of us is in the better state, the living 
or the dead, God only knows." And it w^as with reference 
to this uncertainty of a future life Cicero despairingly cried : 
" Which of these opinions of the philosophers is true, some god 
must tell us ; which is most like to truth is a great question." 
The infidel historian of " The Decline and Fall," remarking 
on these speculations of thejohilosophers, tells us that "they 
might serve to amuse the leisure of a philosophic mind; or. 



faith's discoveries. 275 

in the silence of solitude, they might sometimes impart a 
ray of comfort to desponding virtue ; but the faint impres- 
sion which had been received in the school was soon oblit- 
erated by the commei'ce and business of active life." And 
hence he adds: "There is nothing except a divine reve- 
lation that can ascertain the existence and describe the 
condition of the invisible country which is destined to 
receive the souls of men after their separation from the 
body." 

Such were the speculations of philosophy respecting the 
immortality of the soul. What, then, shall we say of the 
resurrection of the body? Of the former the wise men had 
some intimation ; but the latter had no place whatever in 
their convictions, if indeed, before Jesus and the resurrec- 
tion was preached, it entered into their thoughts. Perhaps 
not even by those who had direct communication with the 
revealed God of the Scriptures was the thought conceived 
before the translation of Enoch. From that moment the 
resurrection of the body, as well as the immortality of the 
soul, was indeed added to the great discoveries of faith. But 
whether it was afterward generally known, and commonly 
received, by the Old Testament saints, is not disclosed with 
sufficient €learness. To Enoch, doubtless, as the reward of 
his close and intimate walk with God, it was first revealed. 
He believed it, and because he believed it, he was further 
signally revrarded by his translation from earth to heaven. 
It is generally believed, notwithstanding the efforts to throw 
discredit upon the rendering of our Authorized Version, that 
the resurrection of the dead was known to the patriarch Job, 
when he replied to his accusing friends: " I know that my 
Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day 
upon the earth; and though after my skin worms destroy 
this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God." The psalmist 
must have have known it when he prophesied of Christ; 



276 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

" Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell ; neither wilt thou suf- 
fer thine Holy One to see corruption." And it was revealed 
by the angel to Daniel, in a vision, by the side of the great 
river Hiddekel ; to him it was foretold that " many of them 
that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to ever- 
lasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt." 
But however and whenever revealed, it was a discovery of 
faith, more than adumbrated by the translation of Enoch 
and Elijah, and forever demonstrated by the resurrection of 
our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead. 

We have seen that, from the first, man was made a free 
agent, and the subject of law. We shall now see that such 
he remained after grace provided an atonement for his sins, 
and through faith restored him to the Divine favor and im- 
age. From the obligations and sanctions of law grace did 
not deliver him ; obedience to it was always expected, and 
always demanded. Life to the obedient, and death to the 
disobedient, was the law of the great Creator and Euler of 
the universe, and the sanctions by which it was enforced. 
While merciful to the penitent, there never was a time when 
the Holy One could look upon sin with the least degree of 
allowance. Hence when " God saw that the wickedness of 
man was great upon the earth," he swept away the ungodly 
by a flood, saving only righteous Noah and his family. ^^By 
faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, 
moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house: 
by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the 
righteousness which is by faith/' 

Noah believed God's word, and acted upon it, notwith- 
standing the severe tests to which he was subjected. One 
hundred and twenty years he was building the ark amid 
the jests and scoffs of the infidel scientists of his day, who, 
perhaps, dinned into his ears that nothing like the threat- 
ened flood had ever happened; that it could never occur, 



faith's discoveries. 211 

because nature's laws had always been, and ever would 
be, uniform ; that it was impossible to cover the hills, much 
less the mountains, with water ; that if it were possible, no 
clouds could bring sufficient rain. But, it seems to us, 
that this was not the severest test which the faith of this 
preacher of righteousness had to undergo. One hundred 
and twenty years he faithfully preached to the Avicked of 
his day ; faithfully he warned them of the coming flood ; ter- 
ribly in earnest because he knew it was coming, he zealous- 
ly exhorted them to repentance and faith in God. And yet 
not a single soul w^as converted by his preaching ; not one 
believed his report ; they perished before his eyes while the 
ark was floating securely upon the flood. 

It was given to Noah's faith that he and his family were 
saved. And though no one hearkened to his warnings, and 
he saw no fruit of his preaching, he became "heir of the 
righteousness which is by faith," and greatly helped to 
strengthen and confirm the faith of millions who came after 
him. Nor was this all. There were precious discoveries 
which his faith revealed. Among them Ave may mention 
these: That God's law is of perpetual obligation, and can- 
not be violated with impunity; that the Lord God omnipo- 
tent reigneth over men on earth, and controlleth the forces 
of nature; that in the rainbow, w'hich he set in the clouds, 
he has given the sure pledge of the general stability of nat- 
ure's laws, and that, according to promise, he will no more 
destroy this world by a flood ; that in the punishment of 
the ungodly, and in the reward of righteous Noah, we know 
the certainty of the final judgment, Avhen God shall punish 
the wicked with everlasting destruction, and shall reward 
the righteous with life eternal; and that, in the overthrow 
of the ungodly by water, wc see the sure fulfillment of liis 
purpose to destroy this world by fire. "The Lord, he is the 
God! the Lord, he is the God!" proclaimed by the thou- 



278 ELIJAH VINDICATED, 

sands of Israel on Carmel when fire from God out of heav- 
en fell on Elijah's sacrifice, shall be thundered by all the 
angelic hosts of heaven, and by all the redeeraed from earth, 
while the heavens, being on fire, are dissolving, and the ele- 
ments are melting with fervent heat. 

The immortality of the soul and the resurrection of the 
body we placed among the discoveries of faith. Abel died, 
and Enoch v/as translated. But what became of them after 
the death of the one and the translation of the other ? Faith 
answers the question, and tells us whither they went and 
where they now are. "By faith Abraham, when he was 
called to go out into a place which he should after receive for 
an inheritance, obeyed; and heivent out, not knowing whither 
he went. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in 
a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Ja- 
cob, the heirs with him of the same promise: for he looked for 
a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker id 
Godr 

The earthly Canaan, to which he was called to go, was 
the type of another and "a better country, that is, a heav- 
enly." In the former he lived as a stranger and pilgrim ; in 
it he had neither house nor laud — "no, not so much as to 
set his foot on" — except the spot he bought as a burial-place 
for his wife. In it he, his son, and his son's son — heirs 
Avith him of the same promise — sojourned in movable tents 
suited to their pilgrim and nomadic life. By faith he knew 
that the earthly Canaan was only his temporary sojourn, 
and the type of the heavenly to which he was journeying. 
In the Canaan above he saw by faith the beautiful city of 
which the great Creator of the universe is both the archi- 
tect and maker. There was his house; there was his home; 
there his eternal abode; and there the heirs of the right- 
eousness which is by faith are taken. There Abel had gone ; 
thither Enoch was translated ; and there, in the city which 



faith's discoveries. 279 

hath foundations, is the rest which " remaineth to the people 
of God." And thus the invisible and heavenly Canaan was 
disclosed to the telescopic eye of Abraham's faith, and was 
added to faith's great discoveries. 

But the faith of Abraham was not without its trials; nor 
is the faith of any of God's dear children here. Probation 
does not end, but fairly begins, when faith is accounted for 
righteousness. "Be thou faithful unto death, and I will 
give thee a crown of life," is the command and the prom- 
ise. In this world the faith of the saints is tested by temp- 
tations. And of them there are two kinds — those which 
come from God and those which come from Satan. It is 
said that God did tempt x\braham ; but it is also said, God 
cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man. 
Moses affirms the one, St. James the other. Both are true. 
For temptation has a primary and a secondary sense. In 
the first, it means to try a thing, to put it to the test; in 
the second, it meaus to entice to sin. In the former sense, 
God tempts — that is, tries the faith of his people; in the 
latter, he tempteth no man; but every man is tempted to 
evil when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed. 
The one God brings upon us; the other he permits. But 
both are under his control. For "■ there hath no tempta- 
tion taken you but such as is common to man ; but God is 
faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that 
ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way 
to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." He knows our 
frame ; he remembers that we are dust. And we have his 
pledge that he will not bring, or suffer any thing to come, 
upon us requiring angelic virtue to resist. His grace is 
sufficient; renewed human nature, through Christ Jesus 
strengthening us, can do all things. "And as thy days, so 
shall thy strength be." Temptations, when they come, and 
no matter whence they come, are designed to strengthen 



280 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

and purify faith itself, to make us wiser, better, and fitter 
for the heavenly inheritance. And when they come upon 
the saints, it is no evidence that they are sent in wrath ; 
they are pledges rather of a Father's love. They are for 
their good; they are meant to discipline them, to make 
them lean more upon God, to show them the worthless- 
ness of earthly things in comparison with the heavenly, 
and to develop in them those graces of the Spirit which 
make them most akin to God and nearer to the likeness 
of Christ. Thereunto the saints are appointed; hence, 
to pray to be delivered from them is to pray to be taken 
out of the world. For as long as they are in the flesh they 
shall have tribulation. Wherefore, ye saints of the Lord, 
look to him for deliverance out of temptations, and in his 
own way. Pray, if you Avill, for deliverance by their re- 
moval, but pray with perfect submission to the Avill of God. 
For it is not his only way of deliverance ; nor is it his usual 
method. He may will that they continue; and what he 
wnlls is best. For he loves us, and he will not remove them 
until his gracious purpose is accomplished. Wherefore, 
endure the cross; despise the shame; drink the cup, how- 
ever bitter; suffer the thorn in the flesh, if such be the will 
of God. For your Father desires to melt away the dross, 
and leave the fine gold, unmixed with any alloy of earth. 
And such will be the result, if you hold fast your confi- 
dence in God and his promises. The trials he brings may 
be patiently borne by faith through grace; and as to those 
with which he permits wicked men and devils to assail you, 
not all the wicked men on earth, nor all the devils in hell, 
can pluck you out of his strong and loving hands. And 
of the former he gives the assurance in the triumph of Abra- 
ham's faith over the severest trial to which he ever put the 
faith of a saint. ^^Bij faith Abraham, when he ivas tried, 
offered up Isaac; and he that had received the promises, of- 



faith's discoveeies. 281 

fered up his only-begotten son, of ivhom it was said, That in 
Isaac shall thy seed be called, accounting that God was able 
to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he 
received him in a figure.'' 

It was hard, under any circumstances, to bear the loss of 
his beloved Isaac. It was infinitely harder to take his life 
by his own hands. For all things human pleaded and re- 
volted against the deed. But obedience was Abraham's 
law. About the command he could not be mistaken. For 
God, who had often conversed familiarly with him, com- 
mands: "Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou 
lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah ; and offer him 
there for a burnt-offering upon one of the mountains which 
I will tell thee of' The patriarch knew what " a burnt- 
offering" w^as — that it required the death of the victim 
and the burning of the body. It demanded the strongest 
and most heroic faith, even if Ishmael, and not Isaac, had 
been the victim. But the victim was Isaac, the miracu- 
lous child of his old age, and the son of promise, of whom 
it was said, " In Isaac shall thy seed be called." Here 
comes the true test of Abraham's faith. He is commanded 
to slay the son of promise, and to slay him before Isaac 
had a son of his own. But Abraham's faith assured him 
that God had not changed his mind concerning Isaac, and 
taken the banished Ishmael into favor. And he knew that 
Isaac was not displaced by another son yet to be more mi- 
raculously born to himself and Sarah, when both were 
much farther advanced in years. For he knew that in 
neither case could God be true to his word ; for the prom- 
ise was to Isaac, not to Ishmael ; to Isaac, and not to some 
unborn son of Sarah. How could God be true to his word, 
if Abraham, before there was any chance of its fulfillment, 
slay the son of promise? Abraham staggered not through 
unbelief. Faith saw the way out. For the promise in Isaac 



282 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 



would be fulfilled, even if lie should be slain. What 
if, with arm uplifted, the father strikes the fatal blov/; 
what if he applies the fire to the wood ; what if the fire 
consumes the wood, and reduces the body to ashes and 
gases; and what if the four winds of heaven scatter them 
to the four corners of the globe? AVhat of all this? The 
patriarch, before one had been raised from the dead, knew 
that God would collect the scattered ashes and gases of the 
consumed body, and give Isaac back to him from the dead. 
For he was persuaded that God would raise him up, even 
from the dead ; and from thence he received him in a figure 
— that is, Abraham received him as if from the dead; for 
his purpose was to slay hira. But the patriarch's God took 
the will for the deed. A ram, caught in a thicket by his 
horns, was provided in the place of Isaac; and a new name, 
Jehovah-jireh — -the Lord will provide — was discovered by 
faith. And thus another discovery was added to faith's 
great triumphs — God will bring no temptations upon his 
saints, out of which he does not provide a way to es- 
cape. 

And faith discovers that equally gracious and provident 
is God in those fiercer and darker temptations with which 
Satan assaults his saints. Here, too, no temptation can 
take us, out of which God does not provide deliverance. 
Faith in God gives the victory over all the attacks of hell. 
By faith, through grace, the saints may overcome the world, 
the flesh, and the devil. The Vv^ord of God is pledged to 
deliver the godly out of both kinds of temptation. As 
he delivered Abraham out of the severest of the one, he 
delivered Moses out of the severest of the other. ''By faith 
Moses, ivhen, he ivas come to years, refused to be called the son 
of Pharaoh's daughter; choosing rather to suffer affliction 
with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for 
a season ; esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches ilian 



faith's discoveries, 283 

all the treasures in Egypt ; for he had respect unto the recom- 
pense of the reward'' 

Saints of God, can he bring upon you a severer trial 
than that which he brought upon Abraham ? And can he 
allow Satan to assail you with a greater temptation than 
that by which Moses was tried ? Have you been called 
upon to shiy a son? Have you had to decide between 
princely power and fame and riches on the one hand, and 
shame and reproach, and affliction and poverty, on the 
other? Bless the Lord, ye his saints, that Abraham's faith 
and Moses's faith have forever proved that " God is faith- 
ful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye 
are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to 
escape, that ye may be able to bear it." 

But it may be said that God's commands are not only 
sometimes grievous, but sometimes impossible to be done. 
It is unbelief that so speaks, and unbelief alone. For God 
never commands the impossible. Does he not know his 
own strength, and what we can do through him? Is he 
ignorant of the power of his own grace? Is he so unwise 
as to require what he knows we cannot do? And is he so 
cruel as to punish us for not doing it? His commands may 
sometimes be grievous, but they can always be borne; they 
may be difficult, and to unbelief impossible, but to faith 
they are possible. Faith obeys, and leaves all to God, fully 
persuaded that it can do whatever he orders. For " hy 
faith the lualls of Jericho ftll down, after they were compassed 
about seven days'' 

In another place we asked. What more seemingly im- 
possible than to take, by the m^eans Joshua was required to 
employ, a walled city, fortified by nature and art, and 
defended by mighty, brave, and war-like men? And yet, 
by simply walking around it as directed, Joshua took it 
without munitions or engines of war of any kind. On 



284 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

the last circuit, Avhen the priests blew with their rams' horns, 
and the children of Israel shouted with a great shout, the 
avails of Jericho fell down flat, and the city was taken. 
Could any command be seemingly more impossible ? Have 
we not in the faith, the obedience, and the success of Joshua 
the divinest assurance that no command of God is im- 
possible ? 

And if these things be so, shall our faith stagger at such 
commands as these : " Be ye holy, for I am holy ; " " Be ye 
therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven 
is perfect;" "And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with 
all thy heart, and with all thy mind, and with all thy 
strength?" And shall our faith weaver, seeing that these 
commands are backed by such exceeding great and precious 
promises as these: ''And the Lord thy God will circumcise 
thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy 
God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul;" "Then 
will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean ; 
from all your filthiness, and from all your idols will I 
cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new 
spirit will I put within you ; and I will take away the stony 
heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of 
flesh. And I will put my Spirit Avithin you, and cause you 
to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, 
and do them?" And has he not said, "If w^e confess our 
sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to 
cleanse us from all unrighteousness?" "Come, now, and 
let us reason together," saith the Lord of hosts; "though 
your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; 
though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." 
And of our blessed Lord it is said, "He is able to save 
them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing 
he ever liveth to make intercession for them." And can- 
not our God save the hardest case? and is it not revealed 



faith's discoveries. 285 

to us by faith that he can? It is; for ^' by faith the harlot 
Rahab perished not luith them that believed not, when she had 
received the qries with peace." 

Such are the discoveries of faith. But "what shall we 
more say? "For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon^ 
and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jepihthah; of David also, 
and Samuel, and of the prophets: who through faith subdued 
kingdoms, ivrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped 
the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the 
edge of the sword, out of iveakness luere made strong, waxed 
valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. 
Women received their dead raised to life again ; and others were 
tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a 
better resurrection ; and others had trial of cruel mockings 
and scourgings, yea, moreover, of bonds and imprisonment ; 
they were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were 
slain with the sword ; they ivandered about in sheep-skins and 
goat-skins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented ;, of whom the 
%vorld was not worthy ; they ivandered in deserts, and in 
mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. And these 
all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not 
the promise ; God having provided some better thing for us, 
that they without us should not be made 'perfect." 

We have gone through with the eleventh of Hebrews, 
than which there is nothing more important, more inter- 
esting, and more eloquent in all the Scriptures. It only 
remains for us to conclude its inspired author's discussions 
of faith with a mere statement of the following rich lessons 
drawn from it: 

1. If they Avho received not the promise — that is, its ful- 
fillment in Christ the promised seed — obtained a good re- 
port through faith, much more should we have faith, seeing 
that, by its fulfillment to us, he has provided some better 
thing for us, having given us the assurance, by his resur- 



286 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

rection from the dead, that his sacrifice has been accepted, 
and that therefore the faith of the patriarchs, now made 
perfect, or complete, is changed to full fruition. 

2. Our faith should be much greater than theirs, since 
the ancient worthies, who accomplished so much through 
faith in Messiah promised, are now looking on from heaven 
as witnesses of the race we are running, cheering and urg- 
ing us on by their examples — not as mere spectators, such 
as were the great majority of those who beheld a race in 
the Gi-eek stadium, but as successful contestants, every one 
of whom had run for the heavenly prize, and been crowned 
victors in the strife. 

3. With much greater confidence of faith we should run 
the race set before us in the gospel, seeing that Christ, who 
for us bore the cross, despised the shame, endured such con- 
tradiction of sinners against himself, and, in his conflicts 
with Satan, both in the garden and on the cross, resisted 
unto blood, striving against sin, is now set down at the right- 
hand of the throne of God, angels, and principalities, and 
powers being made subject unto him. 

4. How patiently and perseveringly, therefore, we should 
run, laying aside every weight, and the sin which doth so 
easily beset us, with eyes always fixed upon the goal, and 
looking to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. 

5. How encouraged we should be to endure trials and 
to suffer chastisement, however grievous, because our loving 
Father, who sends them, deals with us as with sons, and 
not as with bastards, intending that they shall yield nnto 
them that are exercised thereby the peaceable fruit of right- 
eousness. 

6. The rather, therefore, should we diligently persevere, 
following peace with all men, and holiness, without which no 
man shall see the Lord ; because if we apostatize from the 
faith, it will be imj)ossible to recover what we have rejected. 



faith's discoveries. 287 

7. And the rather ought we to hold fast our profession 
of faith in Christ; for we live under a better and more 
comforting dispensation than the old. The saints of the old 
had much to alarm and to terrify. They saw sights and 
heard sounds which made even Moses fear and quake. But 
under the new there is every thing to attract and to win 
the heart. The whirlwinds, the earthquakes, the thunders, 
the lightnings, the blackness, the darkness, the tempests, 
and the fires of Sinai have been succeeded by still small 
voices, whispering gentleness and love, from Mount Zion 
the heavenly Jerusalem, an innumerable company of an- 
gels, the general assembly and Church of the first-born, 
which are written in heaven, God the Judge of all, the 
spirits of just men made perfect, Jesus the Mediator of the 
new covenant, and the blood of sprinkling that speaketh 
better things than that of Abel. 

8. But while these things are so precious, and so encour- 
aging and strengthening to our faith, the greater will be 
our loss and the severer our punishment, if we refuse him 
that speaketh from heaven, and have not grace whereby we 
may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. 
Awful will it be to make shipwreck of faith, and fall into 
the hands of the living, but forsaken and rejected God. 
For our God is a consuming fire. And the Lord that an- 
swereth by fire, he is the God! he is the God! 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

JEZEBEL. 

WE return to Elijah. When his servant reported the 
little cloud, we learn that the prophet said to him, 
^' Go up, say unto Ahab, Prepare thy chariot, and get thee 
dovm, that the rain stop thee not." Witness again his ten- 
der solicitude for the humbled king. He delays not to glad- 
den his heart by the announcement of the rain now near at 
hand: he makes haste to inform him of its coming, that his 
return to Jezreel may not be hindered. And well may the 
king hurry, for the little cloud is rapidly increasing and 
advancing from the sea in the direction of Carmel. Mean- 
time — while Ahab is preparing his chariot — "the heaven 
was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain.'' 
Through wind and rain the king must ride to Jezreel. On 
he drives at rapid pace, urging his horses to their utmost 
speed, fearing lest the torrents, sweeping down the sides of 
Carmel, interrupt his progress. 

But what were the king's thoughts as on he dashed, cross- 
sing wadies already swollen, and mountain torrents rush- 
ing down from Carmel? What an eventful day had been 
the day on the mount to Israel's idolatrous king! He had 
witnessed the greatest convocation since he succeeded his 
father Omri to be king over Israel — perhaps the largest ever 
assembled in the kingdom. He had looked on when the 
priests of Baal were defeated, humiliated, and slain. He had 
been an eye-witness of Elijah's triumph, of the fire which 
fell down from heaven and consumed his offering; and he 
had heard the prophet's prayer to the Lord God of Israel, 
(288) 



JEZEBEL. 289 



and the shouts of the multitude waking the echoes of Car- 
mel, proclaiming Jehovah to be the only living and true 
God. Three years and a half before, the bold Tishbite had 
suddenly burst in upon him in his palace at Jezreel, saying 
that there should neither be dew nor rain for years but ac- 
cording to his word. And for three years and a half there had 
been peither in Israel. Its streams had dried up ; the with- 
ered vineyards and olive-yards had budded not, or prema- 
turely cast their fruits ; the sun-baked fields had yielded not 
to the sharpened plowshares ; beasts of burden had died in 
the scalls, and the flocks in the valleys and on the mount- 
ain-sides; and many people had perished for lack of food 
and drink. 

These calamities had been visited upon Israel because of 
his sins and idolatries. But does Ahab know this? does he 
feel it? and is he humbled? is he penitent? is he convinced 
that the Lord is God, and he alone? will he return to the 
worship of Jehovah? will he root idolatry out of Israel? and 
if resolved on this, how Avill he meet Jezebel? will he bear 
her scorn, when she hears of his return to the worship of 
the God of Israel ? will he be bold to face her wrath when he 
tells her of the slaughter of the priests? will he, if he cannot 
bend her to his changed purpose, put away his queen, and 
send her back to her father Ethbaal? will he dismiss his idol- 
atrous, fawning, flattering courtiers? will he exalt the good 
Obadiah? will he raise him from the stewardship of the pal- 
ace to the premiership of the realm? and will he take Eli- 
jah, the prophet of God, into his counsels? and will he re- 
store, in all their purity, the ritual of Moses and the wor- 
ship of Elijah's God? Are thoughts like those suggested 
by these questions in the king's mind as he hurries toward 
Jezreel through the blinding rain ? as he plies the whip 
and gives the slackened reins to the toiling steeds, are 
his thoughts on the startling events of the day? And as 
19 



290 ELIJAH V IX Die ATE I). 

tlioughts on thoughts succeed, chasing' one another in his 
perturbed mind, successively darting tlirough it and return- 
ing quick as the thunderbolt leaps to earth from the storm- 
clouds overhead, is one of them the contrast between earth 
and sky since revisited by the rain, and their appearance in 
the morning while on his way to the convention on Carmel ? 

But we have asked enough about the king at present. It 
is time to return to the prophet, and ask. What became 
of him after he sent his servant to Ahab to tell him of the 
instant rain? where is Elijah, and what is he doing? We 
tell it as the record tells it : ^'And the hand of the Lord was 
on Elijah; and he girded up his loins, and ran before Ahab 
to the entrance of Jezreeir Swifter than the horses in Ahab's 
chariot, the prophet ran before it, and arrived first at the 
seat of Ahab's ivory palace. How was it that he was able 
to run ahead of the horses? and why w^ent he to Jezreel? 
The answers we reserve for another time and place. Mean- 
while we leave Elijah without the gate to enter within with 
Ahab. With the king we go to the palace, and in his com- 
pany we meet, for the first time, with Jezebel. 

The name of Jezebel we have frequently mentioned ; but 
we have not been brought face to face with her, as with sev- 
eral other actors in the drama of Elijah. What Lady Mac- 
beth is in the great drama which bears the name of her hus- 
band; what Goneril and Regan are in King Lear; what 
Lucretia Borgia is in the legends of poets and roman- 
cers; what Tullia is in tbe legendary story of Titus Livius; 
and what the younger Agrippina and Valeria Messalina are 
in the historic pages of Tacitus, Jezebel is in the Hebrew 
Scriptures. Not that the resemblance is the same in all re- 
gards, or that they were guilty of the same crimes; but all 
alike w^ere cruel, vindictive, unscrupulous, and ambitious; 
and all exercised, more or less, an evil influence over their 
husbands. Ahab's queen had not a single feminine virtue, 



JEZEBEL. 291 



unless it Avas devotion to her country and her country's 
gods. To Phenicia and its religious culture we may well 
believe that every thing — even the interests of her husband 
and his kingdom — was subordinated. If she was devoted 
to her husband, it was more a devotion to Phenicia and 
Baalism than to Israel's king and realm. And though no 
charge of wifely infidelity were brought against her by the 
inspired Hebrew historian, we question the chastity of a 
woman who, in her widowhood, after her son was slain before 
her eyes, "painted her face, and tired her head, and looked 
out of a window," hoping by her personal charms and royal 
birth to captivate the slayer of her son, and become his wife 
or concubine. "We confess we do not see that intrepidity in 
the hour of doom, and that bold defiance of the conspirator 
Jehu, which some have seen in the last moments of Jezebel, 
Nor are we at all inclined to change our opinion because of 
her address to Jehu when he entered in at the gate of Jez- 
reel : "jETarZ Zimri peace, ivho sleiv his master F" For many 
of the best authorities see in Jezebel's address, not the lan- 
guage of defiance, but the language of conciliation. One 
of the best of Oriental scholars, after accepting the para- 
phrase of Jarchi — " If thou hast slain thy master, it is no 
new thing: for Zimri also slew Elah, the son of Baasha" — - 
tells us that Jezebel's words were rather intended to con- 
ciliate than to provoke. And to this the same learned ex- 
positor adds: "The words are understood by most of the 
versions thus : ' Health to Zimri, the slayer of his master ! ' " 
This infamous princess and libidinous woman endeavored, 
by commending and flattering the conspirator Zimri, to win 
over to herself the conspirator Jehu, who, in her presence, 
had slain the king, her son. 

We have said that VtC must question the virtue of the 
Phenician princess and queen dowager of Israel, even if no 
direct charge of unchastity were brought against her. But 



292 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

we do see a direct charge in the reply which Jehu made 
to King Joram, when the latter said: "Is it peace, Jehu?" 
" What peace," was the answer, " so long as the whoredoms 
of thy mother Jezebel, and her witchcrafts, are so many?" 
While we admit that the word translated whoredoms may 
be translated idolatries, the first is its primary and obvious 
meaning. It may be that it is designedly ambiguous, be- 
cause it is to be received both in its literal and tropical 
sense. That her idolatries were many, is unquestionable; 
that her whoredoms were also many, is more than probable, 
from the fact that she w^as a blind devotee of Ashera, the 
patron divinity of harlots, whose rites were of the impurest 
and obscenest kind. And the rather do we think that the 
word is to be taken in its obvious sense, because her witch- 
crafts are included in Jehu's answer — a term that suggests 
all embraced in the charge of idolatry. Of the adulteries, 
the idolatries, and the magic arts of his infamous mother, 
Jehu reminded Joram before he drew his bow with his full 
strength and shot the arrow which smote him between his 
arms and went out at his heart. Hence are we the more in- 
clined to believe, as in perfect keeping with the character 
and conduct of this wicked, artful, and designing woman, 
that she essayed to bewitch the slayer of her son to avert 
her own doom, and gain the ascendency over the new mon- 
arch which she had exerted over three kings of Israel. For 
the very last thing such a woman surrenders is personal 
vanity, and the confidence in her personal influence and 
charms to sway the hearts of men and bend them to her 
own will. And if such were her thoughts, they were em- 
boldened and confirmed by the assurance that Jehu would 
gladly accept an alliance Avith one who was the daughter of 
one king, the wife of a second, the mother of two, the grand- 
mother of a fifth, the mother of a queen, and who had been, 
of three successive reigns, the genius and the prop. 



JEZEBEL, 293 

But if any thing were wanting to support this estimate 
of Jezebel's chastity, the epistle to the Church at Thyatira 
supplies the confirmation. That Church was rebuked be- 
cause it suffered " that woman Jezebel " to teach and to se- 
duce the servants of God to commit fornication, and to eat 
things sacrificed unto idols. Both herself and they who 
committed adultery with her were threatened with being 
cast together into one bed of tribulation. From this it is 
evident that Jezebel was a synonym of lewdness and idol- 
atry. What the true Jezebel was to Samaria the symbol- 
ized Jezebel was to the Church at Thyatira. Against the 
latter two distinct charges are made: she seduced God's 
servants to commit adultery with her, and she led them into 
idolatrous practices. From this we see the estimate inspira- 
tion put on the character of Jezebel : she w^as the symbol 
of all that was lewd and idolatrous in character and prac- 
tice. There were no means, however dark and infamous, 
which this female monster hesitated to employ. We have 
already heard how she tried to exterminate the worship of 
Jehovah ; how she dug down his altars and slew his proph- 
ets. Blind zeal for a religion to which she was passionately 
devoted may be pleaded in extenuation. But in the affair 
of Naboth's vineyard there is no palliation whatever. In 
that she displayed her full ascendency over Ahab, her 
cruelty, her lying arts, and her essential meanness. Near 
Ahab's palace was a vineyard which he coveted and wished 
to add to his royal grounds in Jezreel. But the vineyard 
was Naboth's. That Jezreelite was unwilling, by sale or 
exchange, to part with a possession in Israel which he had 
inherited from his fathers, and which he was forbidden by 
the law of Moses to alienate. The king, when he was re- 
fused, went into his house "heavy and displeased;" and 
lying down upon his bed turned away his face, and would 
not eat. When, in answer to the inquiry of Jezebel, " Why 



294 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

is thy spirit so sad?" Ahab informed her of the reason, she 
bade him be merry of heart, and promised to give him 
the vineyard. In the king's name she wrote letters, and 
sealed them with his seal, and sent them to the elders of 
Jezreel, commanding them to prefer against Naboth the 
charge of blaspheming God and the king. The innocent 
Naboth, condemned on the testimony of two witnesses — 
sons of Belial — who had been procured and suborned, was 
stoned to death. In this one act Ahab's queen was guilty 
of many crimes. She forged the name and seal of the 
king; she corrupted by threats or bribery the elders of the 
city; she robbed an innocent man and his family of their 
inheritance in Israel; she accused him of a crime which 
she knew he had, not committed; she convicted him upon 
perjured testimony which she herself had procured; and 
then wickedly and cruelly murdered him. But perhaps 
this infamous woman's basest part in the whole transaction 
appears in the nature of the charge itself. Under forms 
of the Mosaic law and religion Naboth was robbed and put 
to death. The crime of which he was accused was an of- 
fense under the law which the Lord God gave to the chil- 
dren of Israel. Blaspheming Jehovah, when proved by 
two credible witnesses, was punished with death. That the 
idolatrous Jezebel, whose Avhole purpose was to dethrone 
him and to destroy his worship in Samaria, should be jeal- 
ous for his name, was in the highest degree absurd and hyp- 
ocritical. But she brought the accusation, and she suc- 
ceeded. As Naboth was convicted of treason and punished 
with death, his possessions reverted to the crown. When 
the damning deed was done, the queen comforted the dis- 
pleased and disappointed king by the announcement that 
Naboth had died a traitor's death, that now the coveted 
vineyard was his own, and that he could add it for "a gar- 
den of herbs " to the grounds of his royal palace. 



JEZEBEL. 295 



We have given, out of the order of events, Jezebel's part 
in this infamous affair because we purpose to devote tiiis 
chapter to her and her deeds. Elijah's interference in it 
■will be mentioned here that we may tell her doom. Farther 
on, and in its proper place, we may speak more particularly 
of the message which God sent by his prophet to Ahab for 
his guilty share in plundering and murdering the guiltless 
Naboth. 

Severe but just was the judgment of God upon the exe- 
crable queen: "And of Jezebel also spake the Lord, say- 
ing, The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the ivall of JezreeV Ter- 
rible but fitting sentence upon one of the most detestable 
characters in all the annals of crime. It is questionable 
whether either history or fiction presents a more despicable 
character than the Phenician princess who was wife to 
Ahab, and who "stirred him up to do evil in the sight of 
the Lord above all the kings of Israel that went before 
him." 

God's just judgment was long delayed, but was surely ful- 
filled and executed to the letter. For years she was permitted 
to live, and fill up the measure of her iniquity. She outlived 
the translation of Elijah and the death of Ahab. She was 
a ruling spirit while her son Ahaziah was king over Israel, 
inspired his wickedness, and saw his inglorious end. She 
outlived the reign of her son Joram, the brother of Aha- 
ziah, and the successor to his throne and evil deeds; and 
she was looking on when he fell, pierced through the heart 
by the arrow of Jehu, and when his body was taken up, 
and was cast " in the portion of the field of Naboth the 
Jezreellte." 

Not long after Joram's death was Jezebel's doom delayed. 
The newly anointed Jehu, fresh from the slaughter of her 
son before her eyes, entering in at the gate of Jezreel, be- 
held the mother, with painted face and tired head, looking 



296 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

out at the window of a dwelling by the wall. At his bid- 
ding some eunuchs seized her and hurled her down into the 
street below, her blood sprinkling the wall and the horses 
of his chariot. Right on went the furiously driving and 
avenging king, and trod under foot her prostrate, mangled 
form. But when the deed was done, and " he did eat and 
drink," Jehu relented, and gave commandment to give 
her body a decent burial, for she was " a king's daughter." 
But when they who were sent to perform the service re- 
ported that " they found no more of her than the skull, and 
the feet, and the palms of the hands," the king remembered 
the word of the Lord which he spoke by his servant Elijah 
the Tishbite, saying: "J?^ the portion of Jezreel shall dogs 
eat the flesh of Jezebel. And the carcass of Jezebel shall be 
as dung upon the face of the field in the portion of Jezreel; 
so that they shall not say, This is Jezebel" 

Such was the end of this bad but highly gifted princess! 
She had qualities which, if they had been sanctified, and 
had been exerted in a good cause, would have made her 
preeminent among women. It is impossible not to sympa- 
thize with her passionate devotion to the religion of Baal 
and Ashtoreth sufficiently to wish that a like devotion to 
the blessed Christ and his religion might characterize ev- 
ery woman who professes faith in his name. The women 
of Christendom would soon take this world for Christ, if 
they had the same zeal for Christianity which Jezebel had 
for Baalism. Whatever may be said of this " cursed wom- 
an," as Jehu called her, every thing was subordinated to 
her purpose to give the religion, the culture, and the com- 
mercial wealth of her own Phenicia to the kingdom of her 
king and husband. She was true to her country's gods ; 
and it is likely she was educated in all the necromancy and 
magic arts of their priests. And as her religion was one 
that had no hold upon the conscience, but powerfully im- 



JEZEBEL, 297 

pressed a corrupt imagination, and bewitchingly addressed 
a depraved aesthetic nature, she was entirely unscrupulous 
about the means she employed to propagate it. And there- 
in is the wide difference between the true and the false re- 
ligion. All true Christianity quickens the conscience, pu- 
• rifies the imagination, refines the aesthetic nature, and is ad- 
vanced only by means meeting the approval of a God of 
truth and holiness, of mercy and love. As truth and pu- 
rity, and gentleness and love, are the touch-stones of the true 
religion, it must be advanced by methods in perfect sym- 
pathy and harmony with them. But as falsehood and im- 
purity, and revenge and hate, are the touch-stones of the 
false, in perfect keeping with these may be its methods. 
The false " descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sen- 
sual, and devilish;" the true is "from above, is first pure, 
then j)eaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of 
mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hy- 
pocrisy." 

But in the 23ropagation of both — the false and the true — 
zeal is an important factor and efficient ally. Hence Baal- 
ism, in the kingdom of Ahab, had in the Phenician Jeze- 
bel a powerful confederate. Her high birth, her Phenician 
culture, her superior talents, her inflexible will, her single 
purpose, and her almost absolute sw^ay over her pliant hus- 
band and king, gave to this foreign princess a mighty influ- 
ence in Israel. But when to these magnetic qualities and 
gifts was added a zeal for her religion that knew no bounds, 
her Baalitish influence in Samaria was nearly irresistible. 
What it was may be seen in the overthrown altars of Je- 
hovah, in the slaughter of his prophets, in the temple erect- 
ed to Baal, in the image of Astarte, in the four hundred 
and fifty priests of the one and the four hundred of the 
other. It may be seen in the Tishbite's lonely life by the 
brook Cherith and in the Zidonian city by the sea, in the 



298 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

secluded cave where Obadiah hid the Lord's prophets, and 
in the fact that, in all Israel, there were, even after the 
sacrifice on Carmel, only seven thousand who had not bowed 
the knee to Baal, and that they, in secret alone, could wor- 
ship the Lord God of their fathers. 

Thus we see what the zeal of this passionate devotee ac- 
complished for Baalism in Samaria. Ahab, her husband, 
she subjected to her imperious will ; two sons, Ahaziah and 
Joram, she molded to her own likeness and trained to be 
kings over Israel; and her daughter Athaliah, the very 
image and duplicate of herself in character, in gifts, and 
in blind devotion to Baal and Ashtoreth, she gave to be 
queen over Judah. From the zeal of this bad woman in a 
bad cause we may learn what the like zeal of a good wom- 
an in a good cause may accomplish. If the women of the 
true religion were as zealous for its success as devotees like 
Jezebel for that of the false, Baalism would soon give place 
to the worship of Jehovah, and the gospel of the Son of 
God, whicL is peace on earth, good-will toward men, would 
soon be embraced by every tongue and kindred and people 
on the face of the whole earth. For there is no moral or 
religious influence on earth so potent for good or evil as 
the influence of woman. The moral and religious charac- 
ter of a people is not what its men but what its women are. 
For the sons who shape the destinies of a nation are what 
their mothers have made them. It was said of Alfred the 
Great that " his mother made him all that he w^as in his 
own age, and all that he is to ours." Wherefore, ye moth- 
ers and daughters of Israel, take warning from the world's 
Jezebels and Athaliahs, who were curses to their race. 
From its Hannahs and Eunices learn what may be done for 
your sons. Let Monica, the mother of St. Augustine, and 
Anthusa, the mother of St. Chrysostom, to whose piety and 
prayers those great Fathers of the early Church were in- 



JEZEBEL, 299 

debted for their conversion and for their consecration to 
God, encourage all Christian mothers early to give their 
sons to Christ, and to bring them up in the nurture and 
admonition of the Lord. Be faithful to the holy and 
blessed work of training your children for the kingdom of 
God, and the time will come when no more Jezebels shall 
arise, and it shall be not possible to say again, " This is Jez- 
ebel!" 

Not only in the false religion, but equally in the true, may 
woman play an important and influential part. Under 
both the old and the new dispensation she was, at times, 
signally honored of God, and employed to do his work. 
Miriam, as well as her brothers Moses and Aaron, was in- 
spired to prophesy in the name of the Lord. Deborah, 
who was a prophetess and a judge in Israel, gave her peo- 
ple rest from their enemies forty years. When Israel was 
held fast in fetters of bondage by the Canaanites, she in- 
spired the disheartened Barak to strike a blow for freedom, 
accompanied him to the seat of war when he timidly re- 
fused to go without her, and composed the ode of victory 
which w'as sung after Jabin's great captain was over- 
thrown in the plain of Esdraelon. And into the hands 
of a woman the Lord delivered Sisera what time Jael, 
wife of Heber the Kenite, Avith a workman's hammer, 
drove the nail into his temj^les. At a time when Jeremiah, 
and perhaps Zephaniah, Avere prophets of Jehovah, and 
Hilkiah was his high-priest, the prophetess Huldah, who 
" dwelt in Jerusalem in the college," was consulted to know 
the meaning of the Book of the Law, which was found in 
the house of the Lord in the reign of Josiah. A little 
captive Hebrew maid proclaimed the Lord God of Israel 
in the house of Naaman, captain of the hosts of the Syrian 
king, and was the means not only of healing the great cap- 
tain of his leprosy, but of bringing him to the acknowledg- 



300 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

ment that there was no God in all the earth but in Israel, 
and to the purpose to offer neither burnt-offering nor sacri- 
fice unto any other gods but the Lord. Judith, according 
to the apocryphal book which bears her name, slew the 
victorious Holofernes, and delivered the Hebrews out of 
the hands of the Assyrians. When the infant Redeemer 
was presented by his parents to the Lord in his temple, 
Anna the prophetess gave thanks to God, and spoke of the 
newborn Messias to all who looked for redemption in Je- 
rusalem. The woman of Samaria was the first to whom 
was announced the end of the Jewish and Samaritan ritual ; 
and she was the first to proclaim Messias come to her kins- 
folk and neighbors. And when the Holy Ghost fell on the 
disciples at Pentecost, Peter proclaimed to all that it was 
the fulfillment of the prophecy in Joel, that in the last days 
God would pour out of his Spirit upon all flesh — upon the 
daughters, as well as the sons — and cause his handmaidens, 
as well as his servants, to prophesy. 

And this prophecy was fulfilled in the apostolic churches. 
The Holy Ghost was poured out upon the multitude that 
believed — upon men and women, irrespective of sex ; and 
upon free and bond, irrespective of condition. And women 
prayed in public; and in public they prophesied in the only 
sense any one prophesied in that day — that is, they preached 
Jesus and the resurrection, and spoke freely in the churches 
about the dealings of God with their souls. Women, no 
less than men, were commissioned to say, "Come." They 
were not bishops; they were not pastors; they had not the 
management of churches. In all that concerned their gov- 
ernment they were commanded by St. Paul to keep silence, 
and were forbidden to usurp authority over the men. But 
that they were not forbidden by him to pray or to proph- 
esy in public is manifest from the directions which he gave 
them when they do either the one or the other. They were 



JEZEBEL. 301 

not prohibited to do either iu the churches; they were only 
directed not to pray or to prophesy in public with uncov- 
ered heads. And even that prohibition, in all probability, 
was for that day only, and not for all time. It was a con- 
cession to the customs and prejudices of the Oriental hea- 
thens, to whom the gospel was then preached. The command 
of the apostle in this matter may have no greater bearing 
than certain directions respecting marriage. The interdic- 
tion was expedient for the times, and not intended for all 
conditions of society in all ages of the Church. The man- 
ifest design of the apostle — whose motto, in things non-essen- 
tial, was all things to all men if by any means he might 
save some — was not to offend the customs and spirit of the 
age in matters where no question of morals or of religious 
principle was involved. And this he did as a prudential 
and expedient arrangement, that he might have the read- 
ier access to those whom he was trying to save by the preach- 
ing of the gospel. His concession, therefore, only went so 
far as to prohibit women to pray or prophesy in public 
with uncovered heads, but not to interdict such practices 
altogether. For the four daughters of Agabus prophesied. 
And St. Paul himself had women who labored with him 
in the gospel ; so had Clement, and so had others. They 
were his fellow-laborers, and as such were commended to 
the churches. To the Romans he writes : " I commend 
unto you Phebe our sister, which is a servant of the church 
which is at Cenchrea." The word translated "servant" is 
didxaxr^, a deacon, or deaconess, the word being masculine 
or feminine according to the sex of the person to whom it 
is applied. This deaconess of the church at Cenchrea — 
the eastern port of Corinth, on the Saronic Gulf — the dis- 
ciples at Rome were exhorted to receive as becometh saints, 
and to assist in whatsoever business she had need of them. 
But what was a deaconess, and what her relation to the 



302 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

apostolic Church, may be inferred from what is said of the 
deacons. While there is no question that the latter were 
a2:)pointed to distribute alms to the poor, and to manage the 
purely business affairs of the Church, it is equally evident 
that they preached also. Stephen, the first martyr, and the 
first of the deacons, lost his life because of the signs and 
wonders he wrought — equally with the apostles — by the 
Holy Ghost, and because of the great boldness with which 
he preached before the slayers and murderers of the 
Just One. And Philip, who was made a deacon at the 
same time with Stephen, immediately on his introduction 
to the diaconate, preached the gospel to the Samaritans; 
and his preaching was attended by great miracles, and in 
such demonstration of the Spirit and of power that it was 
accompanied by a sweeping revival. The deacons were 
all solemnly set apart by the laying on of apostolic hands. 
And the deaconesses, as we learn from the earliest constitu- 
tions of the Church, were set apart in the same manner. 

But, it is said, the labors of the latter were confined to 
the women. As soon as the distinction arose between the 
initiated and the uninitiated, they taught the catechumens; 
they baptized the women ; they visited their fellow-women 
where the men were not allowed to go : in fine, they did, and 
from the first, for the women whatever the deacons did for 
the men. Grant all this : they were teachers, and they were 
preachers. They preached the gospel where the men could 
not ; and there at least they could talk about Jesus and the 
resurrection, relate their Christian experience, and exhort 
to repentance, faith in Christ, and holiness of heart and life. 
But forsooth, if a man were present, though a sinner and a 
heathen, and willing and anxious to receive the gospel from 
her lips, she was commanded to keep silence, to hold her 
tongue, and not say a word for the Master, though, like the 
prophet, she might feel his word as fire shut up in her bones, 



JEZEBEL. 303 

and be weary with forbearing. We do not believe this : we 
do not believe that, under such circumstances, the four 
daughters of Agabus held their peace ; neither did Phebe, 
nor St Paul's and Clement's female co-workers. And es- 
pecially do we not believe it, seeing that St. Paul gave di- 
rections how they must do whenever they prayed or prophe- 
sied in the churches. Sure we are that Priscilla, the wife 
of Aquila, was not always silent in the church at their house. 
It seems that she was as able to teach as her husband. At 
all events she, no less than Aquila, expounded to the elo- 
quent ApoUos the way of the Lord more perfectly. The 
truth is, if women, as well as men, were not baptized with 
the Holy Ghost, and if they were not qualified and commis- 
sioned to prophesy — whatever that means — then the prophe- 
cy of Joel was not fulfilled on the day of Pentecost ; and if 
they are still denied the Holy Ghost, and are still forbidden 
to prophesy, then is it unfulfilled to this day, and the new 
dispensation is still incomplete. 

But the prophecy was fulfilled on Pentecost ! There were 
daughters of Jerusalem, who were then baptized with the 
Holy Ghost ; there were handmaidens of our God, who were 
then commissioned and qualified to prophesy. The woman- 
power in the early apostolic Church was a mighty power, 
and it was used by the apostles for the furtherance of the 
gospel. And the greatest revival in the Church since apos- 
tolic times — the great Methodist movement of the eighteenth 
century — and John Wesley, the great apostle of that move- 
ment, did much to revive and to restore the woman-power to 
its appointed and appropriate place in the Church of Christ. 
Susanna Wesley, Selina Countess of Huntingdon, Lady Max- 
well, Lady Glenorchy, Mary Fletcher, Hester Ann Rogers, 
Elizabeth Ritchie, Ann Cutler, Dinah Evans, and many oth- 
er holy women, were powerful co-laborers with the leaders in 
that great revival. And since their days the Churches of our 



304 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

own times are being the more aroused to the importance of 
the woman element in spreading the gospel at home and 
abroad. The woman missionary movement of the present 
day is on this line, is doing wonders, and promises much 
larger results in the near future. The causes which neces- 
sitated the appointment of deaconesses in the early Church 
exist at this day, and with equal force. At home there is 
much evangelical work that women can do which men can- 
not do. For it is not in heathen countries alone women 
have readier access to women than men. And in heathen 
lands — especially in Oriental countries — there is a special 
work for women. To the zenanas of the East let holy wom- 
en go, full of faith and the Holy Ghost, holding up the cross 
before their benighted and degraded sisters, and preaching 
to them salvation from idols and from sin. Let them go with 
a zeal for God and Christ, such as Jezebel had for Baal and 
Astarte, and the heathen will the sooner be given to our 
blessed Lord for his inheritance. 

But the woman-power in the Church is by no means con- 
fined to women gifted as those w^e have mentioned. In the 
humble walks, and in the sweet ministries of life, her power, 
if not so conspicuous, is much more diffusive and effective. 
As wife, as mother, or as sister in the family circle and 
nursery ; as a ministering angel in the chamber of the sick, 
by the bedside of the dying, in the house of mourning, in 
the home of the unfortunate, in the cottage of the poor, in 
the asylum of orphanage, or wherever there is human sor- 
row to be alleviated or human pain to be assuaged ; or as a 
teacher of an infant or a Bible class in the Sunday-school, 
is the appropriate sphere for a holy woman whose life is 
consecrated to Christ and his Church. The women who ex- 
ercise the best and most lasting influence in the Church are 
not phenomenal women like Miriam or Huldah, but the 
Hannahs, who consecrate their children to God from the 



JEZEBEL, 305 



womb, and the Eunices, who early acquaint them with the 
Holy Scriptures, and bring them up in the nurture and ad- 
monition of the Lord. And it was from such as these, holy 
women " well reported of for good works," who had "brought 
up children," " lodged strangers," " washed the saints' feet," 
"relieved the afflicted," and "diligently followed every 
good work" — those were chosen, who assisted the elders of 
the Church in the care of their flocks. To the rural home 
of Mary and Martha in Bethany Jesus retired to rest from 
his labors in the city ; and in the house of Lydia at Philippi 
Paul and Silas found a refuge and a solace after their 
scourgings in the public jail. Not more eloquent was the 
silver tongue of the Alexandrian Apollos than the good 
works and alms-deeds of Dorcas at Joppa, whose delicate 
hands were employed in making coats and garments for the 
needy. The affectionate and adoring Mary, who anointed 
the head and feet of the Redeemer with the precious oint- 
ment from the box of alabaster, did a work that has been 
told for a memorial of her wherever the gospel has been 
preached in all the world, and received the noblest com- 
mendation — " She did w^hat she could " — it was in the power 
even of her Lord to bestow. The faith of the Syropheni- 
cian woman, honored by a severer test than any to which 
the Lord Jesus ever put the faith of an apostle, has done 
more to encourage and strengthen the timid and doubting 
than the heroic martyrdom of Stephen. The poor widow 
who, out of her penury, cast into the treasury of the Lord 
her two mites — "all the living that she had" — gave more 
than all the rich who gave of their abundance, and has 
done more to incite others to liberality than Joseph of Ari- 
mathea, who provided for the dead body of Jesus a burial 
with the rich. The women who followed our Lord were the 
last at the cross and the first at the sepulcher; and a wom- 
an was the first to see him after he rose from the tomb, and 
20 



306 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

the first to herald his resurrection from the dead. It is uot 
the Amazons of this world, or even its Niles, that diffuse 
the largest blessings to mankind, but the little fountains in 
the desert, furnishing sweet water and a cool shade to the 
thirsty and sun-burned traveler ; the countless springs trick- 
ling down the sides of the mountains, the gentle streamlets 
and meandering brooks of the meadow and valley, reviving 
flow^ers that gladden the eye with their beauty and regale 
the senses with their perfume, causing the tender grass to 
grow, and filling the barns with j^lenty. The Christian 
mother, who early teaches her child to lisp the name of 
Jesus — Avho points the tiny and folded hands of childhood 
upward to heaven, and trains the young and stammering 
lips to repeat after her: "Our Father which art in heaven, 
hallowed be thy name: thy kingdom come: thy will be 
be done in earth as it is in heaven" — is herself a mission- 
ary of the cross of Christ, and, in his great missionary 
Church, is doing the appointed work of the Master as truly 
as he who leads the embattled hosts of God's elect to the 
conquest of " the regions beyond." To consecrate her sons 
and daughters from the womb to Christ and his Church, 
and afterward, by holy precepts and a godly examj)le, to 
train them up for his glory, is woman's noblest work, 
and holiest duty. And if this be faithfully done by all 
Christian mothers, with the same zeal for God and the ex- 
tension of his kingdom with which Jezebel trained Ahaziah 
and Joram and Athaliah for Baal and his w^orship, the des- 
ert will soon rejoice and blossom as the rose, and the thirsty 
land become springs of water. 

But to return : we left Elijah, after the gathering on Car- 
mel, without the gate of Jezreel, and said we must enter 
with Abab and go to meet Jezebel. At his palace the king 
alights, and is soon in the presence of his queen. We may 
imagine, but cannot tell, the thoughts of Jezebel during the 



JEZEBEL. 307 

eventful day on Carmel. How much she knew about the 
convocation on its summit we are not informed. Neither 
do we know why she was not there; nor why the four hun- 
dred priests of Ashera were absent. We cannot say whether 
any couriers came and went between Carmel and Jezreel 
to report to the queen, as they occurred, the events of the 
day. Had she heard, before Ahab's return, of Elijah's 
challenge, and the subsequent contest between him and the 
priests of Baal? This is highly probable, for Jezreel was 
about twelve miles from Carmel. She may have heard, if 
there were couriers coming and going, of the failure of the 
priests, and even of the fire which fell down from heaven. 
But it is not probable, even if there were such messengers, 
that they had brought her word of the slaying of the priests. 
It is more than likely she first learned their doom from the 
king himself. Ahab, in that matter, was his own courier, 
and the bearer of his own dispatches. The evil tidings, as 
best he may, the king must break to his queen. 

One may be curious to know how the Phenician princess 
met her king and husband, and how she received his ac- 
count of the events on Carmel and at the Kishon. Did she 
appear before the king in her best array, with painted face 
and tired head, attended by her maids of honor, an impos- 
ing guard of eunuchs, and a splendid train of men-serv- 
ants and maid-servants? Did she take the same pains to 
appear at her best before him, as we have seen she after- 
ward did, when she presented herself at the window before 
the victorious Jehu? We should like to know how Ahab 
reported to her the transactions of that day so disastrous 
to Baal and his priests. Did he, as the record implies, be- 
gin with the beginning, and go over them all? did he tell 
her all about the challenge and the contest? did he describe 
the altar of Baal's priests? did he recount their fruitless 
prayers to the sun-god — how they cried to him from the 



308 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

morning to the evening sacrifice to answer by fire, and how 
no voice, or sound, or any sign was received in response? 
did he tell how Elijah mocked them at high noon, and how 
they cut themselves with knives and lancets, and mingled 
their blood with the blood of the slain bullock? did he re- 
port how the prophet of Israel's God prepared his altar — 
how he dug a trench about it, and poured water upon it 
until the trench itself was filled? did he tell how the Tish- 
bite prayed, and how, in answer to his prayer, fire fell down 
from heaven, consumed his sacrifice, the wood, the stones, 
the dust, and licked up all the water in the trench ? did he 
depict the scene when the people, as one man, fell prostrate 
upon the earth, and then arose, and rent the heavens with 
the shout, '■'The Lord, he is the God! the Lord, he is. the 
Godf did he relate how, at the prophet's command, the 
people seized the priests of Baal, dragged them down Car- 
mel's side, slew them at the brook Kishon, and dyed its 
waters with their blood? did he say that he himself was 
present at their execution, and gave his royal sanction 
to their death ? did he confess that he himself, awed and 
subdued by the fire of Jehovah, and carried away by 
the shouts of the multitude, joined in the acclaim ascrib- 
ing sole and absolute sovereignty to Elijah's God? did he 
acknowledge how Elijah tenderly cared for his wants, and 
how he prayed on Carmel for the return of rain ? and did he 
describe the little cloud arising out of the Mediterranean — 
how^ at first seen in the distance, it appeared no bigger than 
a man's hand ; how it suddenly spread over the whole heav- 
ens ; how it burst upon Carmel ; and how, through rain and 
wind and storm, he rode to Jezreel? 

If the king faithfully told all that happened on that tre- 
mendous day, we may be sure that the queen, though lashed 
by ten thousand furies, long listened in forced silence, but 
with deep and passionate breathings, to the fearful recital. 



JEZEBEL. 309 



No art but Shenstone's, no genius but Shakespeare's, can 
portray the rise and fall of that bosom, swayed by the dark 
and vengeful passions which the failure and death of Baal's 
priests and the triumph and irony of the hated prophet of 
God aroused to frenzy. During the progress of Ahab's re- 
cital, derision, contempt, scorn, anger, bitterness, gall, hate, 
rage, defiance successively threw their dark shadows over 
the changing face of the proud and haughty queen. But 
when the king's account came to the slaughter of the priests, 
all her fierce passions, with united and clamorous voices, 
cried aloud for vengeance. Not even the lono- delaved and 
looked-for rain could damp the kindled fires of passion that 
raged wdthin. The prophet of God, who had slain Baal's 
priests with the sword, must die. The sentence of death 
passes lips livid with rage. And when "Ahab told Jezebel 
all that Elijah had done, and withal hoiv he had slain all the 
prophets with the sword, she disj)atched a messenger to Eli- 
jah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make 
not thy life as the life of one of them by to-morrow about this 
time" Such is the resolve of Israel's idolatrous and venge- 
ful queen! But God has ordered otherwise. Not a hair 
of Elijah's head shall Jezebel harm. The life of his serv- 
ant is precious in the sight of the Lord God 0/ Israel. He 
will not only rescue his i:)rophet from death by Jezebel's 
hands, but he will, in due time, translate hin? ih'^i he shall 
not see death. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

PEOM JEZKEEL TO THE JUNIPEE. 

WE left Elijah at the gate of Jezreel. He had run 
twelve miles through wind and rain, and arrived 
there before Ahab. The record says, "jSe ran before Ahab 
to the entrance of Jezreel." There is nothing in this to prove 
that he was an advanced courier, or shatir, as the runners 
before kings' chariots are called in the East. And there 
is nothing to show that he intended by it any special honor 
or service to the king. It is a mere statement of fact — he 
outstripped Ahab, and arrived first at Jezreel. Nor do we 
see that there was any miraculous power upon Elijah to 
enable him to outrun the king's horses. But is it not said, 
"And the hand of the Lord luas on Elijah f^^ Yes ; the hand 
of the Lord was upon him then, and it had been, in the 
most signal manner, from his first appearing to Ahab. But 
if by this it be understood that Elijah, in the short run of 
only twelve miles, needed supernatural strength to outstrip 
Ahab's chariot, we must say there is no proof of it. For 
was not Elijah an active and hardy mountaineer of Gilead? 
It is said of the eleven captains, sons of Gad — all Gileadites, 
who came to David at Ziklag — that they were as " swift as the 
roes upon the mountains." When David lamented Saul and 
Jonathan in an exquisite elegy on their death he said they 
were " swifter than eagles." Not only for a short distance 
of twelve miles, but of many miles requiring a whole day's 
running, have shatirs run before the horses of kings. Dr. 
Kitto mentions the shatir of a Persian king who " accomplished 
about one hundred and tw^enty miles in fourteen hours' un- 
(810) 



FROM JEZREEL TO THE JUNIPER. 311 

remitted running; and, instead of finding praise for this, 
was rather censured for not having accomplished the task 
in twelve hours." He tells us that, in his day, it was no 
uncommoi; thing for Persian footmen to run before their 
masters on horseback, "even when the riders put their 
horses to a gallop." "As a general rule," he says, " it is 
understood that a well-trained footman ought to remain un- 
tired fully as long as, if not longer than, the horse ridden by 
the master." What so great feat, then, had the Tishbite 
to perform that he must be indued with miraculous strength? 
Was it a great thing for a mountaineer of Gilead, in a run 
of about twelve miles, to keep ahead of a heavy chariot 
drawn by such horses as Ahab's ? When Obadiah, just be- 
fore the contest on Carmel, met Elijah, were not he and 
the king out hunting grass to keep the royal mules and 
horses alive ? Where, then, was the need of a miracle for 
such a man as Elijah to beat Ahab's half-starved horses? 
Our faith never staggers at any real miracle in God's word, 
however stupendous. But we would feel ashamed to inter- 
pose miracle to help Elijah in such a contest, and especially as 
we do not know how far he had the start, or whether the road 
was a good one for a footman but a bad one for a chariot, or 
vice versa ; or whether it was equally good for both. For all 
these things must be taken into the account to arrive at a 
fair judgment. Hence, we will not call in the miraculous 
until the miraculous is stated, or we know that it is needed. 
Wherefore, we believe that the saying " The hand of the 
Lord was on Elijah" has no reference to any supernatural 
strength the Lord gave to his servant that he might arrive 
at Jezreel before Ahab. If others could accomplish such 
a feat without miracle, why not Elijah? Was the mount- 
aineer of Gilead old and decrepid? We see no evidence 
that the burden of years was weighing heavily on the Tish- 
bite. Hence, we suppose that the saying has signal refer- 



312 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

ence to the great transactions on Carmel ; it was in confirma- 
tion of what the prophet affirmed, "J have done all these 
things at thy word,^' and to show that in all that fol- 
lowed, until the prophet's translation to heaven, the hand 
of the Lord was on Elijah. If it were said that the hand 
of the Lord was on him to enable him to run before the 
king's horses, the question would be settled. But it has 
not been so said; it is but an inference to support the 
opinion that the Lord sent the prophet to do a certain work 
in Jezreel which, after the threat of Jezebel to take his life, 
he cowardly failed to do. It is an interpretation that does 
the greatest injustice to the courage and faith of perhaps 
the bravest and truest servant the Lord God ever had to 
do his will. The Tishbite never for one moment wavered in 
courage or faith. He erred, as we shall see — he even sinned 
— but not from any failure in either or both. They who 
hold the contrary, as we think, have utterly mistaken the 
character and conduct of Elijah in the events about to be 
narrated. 

Elijah and Ahab have arrived at Jezreel. The prophet 
remains without; the king goes within. We have followed 
the latter to his palace, and heard his report to the queen 
of the events on Carmel, and of the tragic scene at the 
Kishon. We have witnessed the rage of the offended prin- 
cess when she heard of the slaughter of Baal's priests ; and 
we have heard the impotent threat of vengeance against 
the prophet of God, who had taken them off. But we must 
leave the maddened Jezebel to nurse her wrath in secret 
till the morrow, when she is to witness, as she vainly be- 
lieves, the appeasing of the manes of the slaughtered priests 
with the life-blood of the Tishbite. We must leave her, 
and hurry to Elijah without the gate. 

The queen's messenger has found the prophet, and deliv- 
ered the message of his royal mistress. Elijah is informed 



FROM JEZREEL TO THE JUNIPER. 313 

of the death-sentence which the infuriated Jezebel has pro- 
nounced against him. Is it not surprisingly strange that 
Jezebel made known her bloody purpose to Elijah? Where 
is her deep cunning? Is she bereft of all sense? Why 
wait till to-morrow ? And if she wait, why put it into the 
power of her intended victim to escape? If the execution 
is delayed because she wishes to glut her eyes with the tort- 
ure and death of the hated prophet of God, why did she 
not send a strong guard to arrest him, and put him in hold ? 
Did she believe that Elijah would quietly w^ait to be led to the 
slaughter, and make no effort to avert the threatened doom? 
Has she forgotten how he escaped w^hen he announced to 
Ahab the drought? how, for three years and a half, he had 
eluded her and Ahab's spies and detectives, and baffled all 
their attempts to find out his hiding-place? Has she not 
had fresh evidence of the Tishbite's vigor, his powers of 
endurance, and fleetness of foot? Was it not easy for one 
to escape who could outrun the swiftest horses in the king's 
stables? But to make sure of her purpose, why did she 
not, instead of sending to inform him of the death-sentence, 
dispatch a trusted executioner with instructions to stab him 
on the spot, or otherwise take his life in the surest and 
quickest w^ay possible ? 

Faith sees the answer to these questions. The Lord God, 
by whom kings reign and princes rule, who knoweth the 
hearts of all men, and doeth all things according to his 
own will, caused the wrath of the queen to praise him, and 
counterworked its bloody design. Jezebel was blinded by 
dark and vengeful passions. Her w^onted cunning and sub- 
tlety gave place to stupidity and folly. Believing that her 
victim was in her grasp, and that she could delay her venge- 
ance until she could publicly and signally gratify it, she 
l)lindly thinks that she can toy with the prophet of God as 
grimalkin toys with the mouse she has taken before she de« 



814 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

stroys it. So confident is she that Elijah is in her power 
she sends him word the night beforehand that his life on 
the morrow will be as the life of one of the slain prophets 
of Baal. With the refinement of cruelty she seeks to tort- 
ure Elijah with a night's foreboding of the awful death 
awaiting nim. Infatuated woman, giving no heed to Jeho- 
vah's answer by fire on Carmel and to his terrible judg- 
ments at the brook, and impiously daring to pronounce the 
sentence of death upon his anointed prophet and accredited 
embassador! Demented queen, presumptuously condemn- 
ing hira to die, and then stupidly giving him the means to 
make good his escape! Faith is not so dull as not to see 
that he who hardened and blinded Pharaoh's heart and eyes 
hardened and blinded the heart and eyes of Ahab's queen. 
The timely warning is Jehovah's. God is leading his proph- 
et by a v/ay he does not know now, but which he shall 
know presently. The hand of the Lord was on Elijah to 
carry out designs concerning Israel not yet disclosed. From 
Carmel to Horeb God was conducting Elijah. The route 
was by Jezreel, but God had no work for his servant within 
that summer residence of Israel's king. 

By secret impulses, over which they have no control, 
God often leads his prophets. It was not always he made 
known to them beforehand his full designs. His prophets 
were often as ignorant of his ultimate purposes as others 
not his appointed embassadors. It was not an uncommon 
thing for prophets, divinely sent, not to know all the ob- 
jects of their mission. For they only knew as much as 
God was pleased to reveal. But they knew when God 
spoke to them, as well when he spoke inwardly as by dreams 
and visions or an audible voice. Elijah, after Carmel, 
knew that his road was to Jezreel. But this seems to be 
all that was revealed. And if so, it Vv^as natural to think 
that God was sending him there to do to Jezebel and 



FROM JEZEEEL TO THE JUNIPER. 315 



her priests what he had done to Baal's priests. AVith spirits 
elated by his triumphs on the mount, the Tishbite bounds 
before Ahab's chariot. It was this which gave greater 
suppleness to his limbs; it was this which added fleetness 
to his feet. Exceedingly jealous for the Lord God of hosts, 
he hurries to Jezreel, thinking the Lord God has sent him 
there to put an end to Baalism in Samaria. We have seen 
that neither Jezebel nor her priests were at the gathering 
on Carmel. Elijah had summoned them to appear, but 
they had not obeyed the summons. Jezebel, we know, was 
not there ; and we are sure that her priests were not there, 
for Baal's priests are the only ones mentioned who took 
part in the contest by fire, and the only ones led down to 
the brook and slain. That her priests had escaped the 
slaughter at the Kishon is evident from the fact that they 
were alive when Ahab and Jehoshaphat, several years after- 
ward, were about to go up to battle at Ramoth-gilead. 
They were the four hundred prophets whom the King of 
Israel gathered together and consulted when he wished to 
know whether he should go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or 
whether he should forbear. These idolatrous priests of 
Ashera and their idolatrous patroness having escaped the 
execution at the brook, Elijah hastens to Jezreel, knowing 
that they were equally guilty and equally worthy of death, 
and believing that they were doomed to perish by his hands. 
AVith their death he expected to complete the destruction 
of Baalism in Israel, and to restore the worship of Jehovah. 
When the Tishbite arrived at Jezreel before Ahab, why 
did he pause at its gate? or why did he not follow the king 
as soon as he had entered? Because the divine impulse 
which sent him there stopped him at the entrance. The 
hand of the Lord was not on him to go within. He was 
before Jezreel because it was on the way to Horeb. It was 
not in Jehovah's pkins that Jezebel and her priests should 



316 ELIJAH VINDICATED, 

fall by the hands of Elijah. There was, for the present, to 
be no more answer either by sword, or by fire, or by earth- 
quake, or by whirlwind, or by any other terrible judgment. 
By other and gentler methods the God of Israel will carry 
on the contest against Baalism. The Tishbite would have 
exterminated all idolaters by a single blow. He would 
have left not one to bow the knee to the Baalim. But the 
Lord determined that there had been enough of slaughter 
— full enough of blood. The sword, the fire, the earth- 
quake, and the whirlwind must give place to the still small 
voice of gentleness and love. The work of God's Elijah is 
done ; the way is preparing for the work of God's Elisha. 
There had been enough of Sinai, enough of the law and its 
awful judgments; the gospel of peace is about to succeed. 
Elijah, the exponent of the law of Moses, must be followed 
by Elisha, the type of the gospel of Christ. The gracious 
return of dew and rain to parched Samaria indicates a 
change of procedure. Every thing that happened after 
their return points to an alteration in the methods of the 
dealings of Israel's God with Israel's idolatrous king and 
people. 

Elijah is without the gate when Jezebel's messenger an- 
nounces her bloody purpose. The queen's message the 
prophet takes as an unmistakable assurance that God does 
not intend him to use the sword in Jezreel. Wherefore he 
sees that, whether he goes within or remains before it, it 
will be at his own peril, and with no promise of Jehovah's 
protection. He has nothing to do but to leave; for God 
calls him elsewhere. ^^And when he saio that, he arose and 
went for his life." But this he did when he went to Cherith 
and to Zarephath. To save his life he was hid nearly a 
year at the brook, and over two years and a half in the 
Zidonian city. Was he a coward when he fled to either? 
and yet he went for his life to both. To save his life he 



FROM JEZBEEL TO THE JUNIPEB, 317 

was concealed three years and a half. And yet a braver 
man never drew breath than Elijah the Tishbite. When- 
ever God said, "Go, shew thyself to Ahab," he went. 
Afraid of Jezebel and her priests ! Cowed by a woman ! 
He had summoned both her and her priests to Carmel. As 
he stood undaunted and alone on the mount before the 
king and his court and his guard, and the four hundred and 
fifty priests of Baal, and a fickle and idolatrous populace, 
so he would have borne himself had the queen and the 
priests of Ashera been present. And now had the com- 
mand of his God been, "Go, shew thyself to Jezebel, and 
do to her and her priests as thou didst to the priests of 
Baal," the prophet of God would have leaped for joy at 
the summons, and the next moment he would have been 
found in the palace confronting the maddened queen. 

But where, we ask, is the command that Elijah should 
go within Jezreel? Show a " Thus saith the Lord" for it, 
and not a mere inference. The very thing relied on to 
prove that there was only carries him to the entrance: 
^'And the hand of the Lord was on Elijah; and he girded 
up his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel" 
Is this a command to go within, and carry on there the 
work begun on Carmel? Does any one inspired of God 
say that it is, or that the prophet was a coward for not en- 
tering Jezreel? There was no such command; that there 
was is all conjecture. Elijah's whole conduct is interpreted 
to support that inference. This is done in the absence of 
any inspired avowal of such command or charge of cow- 
ardice. And it is done at the expense of Elijah's courage 
and obedience and faith. For if he had a positive com- 
mand to enter Jezreel, and disobeyed because he feared 
the threats of Jezebel, and believed that God would not 
protect him there, he was indeed fallen; the bravest spirit 
in Israel became an arrant coward ; the man of greatest 



318 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

faith in one moment shipwrecked and lost it all. The Tish- 
bite was a great and heroic soul in ruins! There is no 
middle ground. To fail at such a crisis was to fail fatally. 
No excuse, no palliation whatever, is admissible. If his 
courage ingloriously failed him, if his faith gave place to 
cowardly unbelief, he was, at the supreme moment, the 
greatest failure God ever employed in a great enterprise. 
And it would have been so declared by inspiration of God. 
The charge of cowardice and unbelief would have been 
squarely and unequivocally made, and not been left to con- 
jecture. And though, after proper repentance and humil- 
iation, the prophet may have been forgiven and taken again 
into favor, the ascension in the chariot of fire and the wit- 
ness of the transfiguration on " the mountain apart " would 
have been wanting to the great drama of Elijah the Tish- 
bite. For a much less offense Moses was shut out of the 
land of promise and w^as buried "on this side Jordan," 
and Jonah was three days and nights in the belly of a 
whale. But neither the God of Israel nor any one in- 
spired to make known his mind brings any charge of cow- 
ardice or unbelief against Elijah. The prophet is dearer 
to the heart of God than ever ; and he is dearer because 
his courage and faith w'ere never truer than before Jezreel. 
He burned with desire — for he was very jealous for the 
Lord of hosts — to go within and slay the queen and Ashe- 
ra's priests. But the Lord would not let him. As Abra- 
ham's heroic faith on the mount Avas accepted as the burnt- 
offering of his son, so Elijah's before Jezreel was accepted 
as the taking off of Jezebel and her execrable crew. Nor 
is the view we are presenting a mere conjecture. If it be, 
we are entitled, in the absence of any inspired declaration 
to the contrary, to have an opinion as well as others; and 
if it be, it is far more in keeping with the grand and heroic 
character of the Tishbite, and far more consistent with all 



FROM JEZBEEL TO THE JUNIPER. 319 

his life before and after his running to Jezreel. At all 
events, if we do no violence to any positive declaration of 
God's word, -sve much prefer an interpretation that pre- 
serves, in all their colossal proportions, the courage and 
faith of this mighty servant of God. 

^^And luhen he saiv that, he arose, and ivent for his life, 
and came to Beersheha, which helongeth to Judah, and left 
his servant there^ When he saw that — the w'ord just itali- 
cized is in our version, but not in the original. And when 
he saw that. Saw w^iat? It has been taken to mean Jez- 
ebel's purpose to take his life. But does it not rather mean 
that he saw God's changed method of dealing with the 
Baalitish problem; that God did not intend to use the 
sword in Jezreel, and that therefore he was not to enter it; 
that it was no place for him ; that to some new Cherith or 
Zarephath God was leading him; and that as once before 
he went for his life from Jezreel, so must he again ? Then 
he knew that he was going to Cherith ; now he does not 
know where he is going. Indeed, by many of the best ex- 
positors the words " he luent for his life " are rendered " he 
went whither he would.'' If the latter be the meaning, then 
nothing is said about going for his life. But it makes no 
difference which is the correct translation. Let it be that 
*'heiuentfor his life." It is no more a proof of cowardice 
than when he went to Cherith or Zarephath for the same 
purpose. Was David a coward when he went to the cave 
of Adullam, though he fled from fear of Saul ? Elijah's 
flight from Jezreel was no more a proof of cowardice than 
when St. Paul, let down by the wall in a basket, fled from 
Damascus; or than when our Lord, before his time was 
come, withdrew from the pursuit of his enemies. All these 
things we shall see more clearly as we proceed with the 
narrative. 

Or, let it be that " he went whither he would," which ha^ 



320 ELIJAH VINDICATED, 

been taken to mean he went, not knowing whither he was 
going. Whether this be the true rendering or not, it 
equally suits the facts. For Elijah's God, without his 
knowledge, is leading him by Jezreel to Beersheba, and 
from Beersheba to Horeb. And at Beersheba he arrives, 
a town belonging to Judah, and on the extreme southern 
boundary of the land divided among the twelve tribes. 
There Elijah left his servant. But why did he leave him 
there? Some see in it a still further proof of the prophet's 
cowardice. They tell us that he thought his chance of es- 
cape would be better if he were alone; wherefore he dis- 
missed his servant to shift for himself, selfishly intent only 
on his own safety. Others, more considerate, think that 
out of kindness he sent him away, being unwilling that the 
servant should imperil himself for the sake of his master. 
But we see a very different reason for his dismissal. It 
was God who sent him away. In it we recognize the fur- 
ther unfolding of God's changed plans of dealing with 
Baalism. It is the prelude to the grand scenic display 
soon to be v/itnessed on Horeb. We will not noAv write all 
that we mean ; we will only add that the servant was dis- 
missed that another might " pour water on Elijah's hands." 
Elisha was the one appointed of God to take his place and 
be Elijah's servant. And why did not Elijah remain in 
Beersheba, in the kingdom of good King Jehoshaphat, who 
"walked in the first ivays of his father David, and sought 
not unto Baalim,^' but "did that which was right in the eyes 
of the Lord^" Was he not safe there? Whether safe or 
not, he has not arrived at his journey's end, whither the 
Lord God is conducting him. God is leading Elijah to 
Horeb, and to Horeb he must go. At Horeb, and there 
alone, will Jehovah make it plain to his prophet why he 
did not suffer him to enter Jezreel and slay Jezebel and her 
four hundred priests. 



FBOM JEZREEL TO THE JUNIPER, 321 

Having tarried in Beersheba a night, Elijah, obeying the 
divine impulse, arose and went " a day's journey into the 
ivildeimesSj mid came and sat down under a juniper-tree.^* 
Southward into Arabia the prophet went — a country, in its 
sacred associations, second only to Palestine in Hebrew 
story. There, in the land of Uz, dwelt the patriarch Job, 
the man perfect and upright, who feared God and eschewed 
evil; who signalized his devotion to God by incorruptible 
integrity, and by the most sanctified patience under suffer- 
ing. There, in the land of Midian, at Horeb, the mount 
of God, the Lord God appeared unto Moses, while he kept 
the flocks of Jethro, " in a flame of fire, out of the midst 
of a bush." And it was in this wilderness where Elijah 
was journeying that Jehovah-God, after their flight from 
Egypt, by many miraculous providences, manifested him- 
self to his peculiar people. In the solitudes of this desert- 
wild Elijah stopped when his day's journey was over. 
Under a juniper — "the white-blossomed broom-tree," so 
common to the Arabian desert — he sat down for shelter 
and rest. But there is no rest as yet for the Tishbite. His 
great soul, deeply and powerfully stirred within, finds vent 
in passionate plaints to the God of Israel. What mean 
these plaints? From what cause do they proceed? What 
are the emotions which war beneath that shaggy breast? 
And how are they expressed in words? We give the whole 
record — all that is said: "And he requested for himself that 
he might die; and said, It is enough; now, Lord, take 
away my life; for I am not better than my fathers." 

The man who ran from Jezreel because he was afraid to 
die now pleads with God to take away his life! The cow- 
ard who set such a value upon life now begs to die! The 
poltroon who fled from a woman that he might prolong his 
days now says that he has lived long enough! If coward- 
ice made him flee from Jezreel, he has lived long enough, 
21 



322 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

and he ought to die. If the man who intrepidly faced such 
perils on Carmel turned white-livered before tiie threats of a 
woman, he ought to be ashamed to live. No wonder the 
recollection of his disgrace is intolerable; no surprise he 
courts death to hide his shame. And can the Lord God of 
Israel look with pity, much less with complacency, upon the 
coward, the dastard, the poltroon who failed him at such a 
crisis, at such a supreme moment, in his great contest with 
the Baalim f How is the mighty fallen ! The bold Tish- 
bite, whose courage never for a single moment, when the 
odds were fearfully against him, wavered on Carmel; whose 
eagle-eye flashed defiance against Israel's king and his min- 
ions and Baal's priests and the combined hosts of hell, 
crying, simpering, whining, like a timid and cowardly 
school-boy, threatened and cowed by another, and that 
other — a girl! For such do many represent Elijah the 
Tishbite to be when he. fled from Jezreel, and when he sat, 
in the wilderness of Arabia, under the juniper. We have 
not overdrawn the picture; we have presented it true to 
the life as others have painted him. We have only thrown 
aside the drapery with which they have sought, patroniz- 
ingly and apologetically, to hide the coward they have 
drawn. For what do the thousand homilies mean that 
have been written condemning but extenuating Elijah's 
conduct before Jezreel and under the juniper? What is 
meant by the lessons they have taken from it as a warning 
to others? What is intended by the many palliations of 
his cowardice, and the impotent attempts to excuse it? 
Not all the art, not all the ingenuity in the world can oflfer 
one good excuse for Elijah, if he was the unbelieving cow- 
ard they represent him to have been at the gate of Jezreel. 
Not all the whitewashing, however skillfully applied, can 
hide the blemish. If these delineators of the Tishbite are 
correct, Elijah was the most signal failure in all the sacred 



FBOM JEZREEL TO THE JUNIPER, 323 

history, and his fall the greatest ; for he fell from the lofti- 
est eminence. We repeat, if they are right, Elijah was a 
great and heroic soul in ruins! And it were a hopeless 
task to reconstruct from such ruins the grand and heroic 
prophet who defied Ahab and his confederates on the top of 
Carmel. 

But what shall we say of the faith of the prophet before 
Jezreel? More preeminently signal had been Elijah's faith 
than Elijah's courage. Indeed, it was his implicit faith 
that gave to him his intrepid heroism. It was faith that 
sustained him by the brook Cherith and in ih^ cottage of 
the widow woman at Zarephath. It was faith that restored 
to life her dead sou. It was faith tliat emboldened him to 
denounce Ahab for his sins, to pronounce the curse on Sa- 
nuiria, and to make the appeal by lire on Carmel. It was 
faith that made him bold to seize the priests of Baal and 
slay them at the Kishon. It was faith that shut up the 
heavens for three years and a half, and brought the rain- 
cloud out of the Mediterranean. What an inglorious ship- 
wreck of faith if, when God commanded him to go within 
Jezreel, he fled from it, because he could not trust God to 
protect him there, as he had protected him once before at 
Jezreel, and as he had shielded him at Cherith, at Zare- 
phath, and, above all, on Carmel! In a moment the man 
of the strongest and the most heroic faith — and after such 
signal triumphs of faith — is full of cowardly unbelief! 
Away with the thought ! We do not believe a word of it. 
It is a slander upon as true faith as ever appeared in a serv- 
ant of God. 

But this is not all. If Elijah was commanded to go 
within Jezreel, and failed through cowardice and unbelief, 
how must we characterize his obedience? What defense 
can we set up for his disobedience? If he was ordered to 
go within, he knew it; if he was commanded to carry on the 



324 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

contest against Baalism there, he could Dot plead ignorance. 
Disobedience at such a time was defiance of the Lord God 
of Israel; it showed that he dreaded the woman Jezebel 
more than he feared Almighty God. The embassador, from 
cowardice and unbelief, failed his Infinite Sovereign, and 
willfully disobeyed his express and positive instructions at 
the very crisis of his sublime contest with his enemies. All 
that was gained on Carmel might be lost at Jezreel. In vain 
the severe and protracted drought ; in vain the answer by fire, 
and the death-punishment inflicted on the priests of Baal. 
If he did not know, it ought at least to have been in Eli- 
jah's thoughts that by his disobedience the supreme per- 
sonal God of Israel might lose all that was won by the mi- 
raculous and stupendous victory on Carmel, and that the 
final victory would be claimed by Jezebel and her lying 
priests. And if these results were brought about through 
his unbelief, cowardice, and disobedience, how could he ex- 
pect to be acquitted? AVhat favor could he hope from his 
God whose cause he had so dastardly betrayed ? We insist 
there is no middle ground here. If Elijah w^as disobedi- 
ent^ cowardly, and unbelieving, his sin was of the most 
aggravated kind. It deserved to have had put upon it 
the stigma of the Divine reprobation. And if his con- 
duct had been such, we may be sure that this would have 
been done as a potent w^arning against the unfaithful- 
ness, cowardice, and disobedience of servants so highly hon- 
ored of God. The Divine condemnation would have been 
as signally manifested as had been the Divine approval at 
Cherith, at Zarephath, and on Mount Carmel. 



CHAPTER XXV. 

UNDER THE JUNIPER. 

~W 7"E are now better prepared to understand ElijaK's 
VV complaints under the jumper. Because tbe hand 
of the Lord was upon him to go to Jezreel, he concluded 
that God directed him to go within. Short work the prophet 
would have made of Baalism in Israel! If th^ dead praise 
not the Lord, neither shall any curse him that go down 
into silence; if they cannot do good, the?r power to dp 
harm is forever taken away. Elijah was &o very jealous 
for the Lord God of hosts, his righteous soul was so vexed 
because the children of Isi^ael had forsaken his covenant, 
thrown down his altars, and slain his prophets, that he would 
have cut off all their foreign and idolatrous seducers. And 
of these the most abominable and obnoxious were Jezebel 
and the jDriests of Ashera. AYith highest hopes he ran be- 
fore Ahab's horses. Encouraged by his splendid success on 
Carmel, he expected at Jezreel to slay the queen's minions, 
if he did not slay the queen hei-self. By his hands idola- 
try was to be rooted out of Israel ; by his hands the temples 
and idols of the Phenician gods in Samaria were to be de- 
stroyed; by his hands their corrupt and seducing priests 
were to be slain with the sword. Visions of the restored 
Hebrew ritual and worship of Jehovah thrilled the prophet 
of God. One more day's work, and the triumph of Israel's 
God would be complete; one more day's work, and his en- 
emies in Samaria would be silenced forever. 

The flushed hopes of the Tishbite were first damped be- 
cause the hand of the Lord was not on him to go within 

(325) 



326 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

Jezreel. The same divine impulse which sent him there 
made him pause at its gate. He was as much divinely di- 
rected to stop at the entrance — the burden of proof is with 
those who hold the contrary — as he had been to run to it. 
His intrepid daring and fiery zeal urged him on to the 
palace. Chafing from disappointment and mortification 
by the arrest at the entrance, his failing spirits sunk to their 
nadir when the same secret power which sent him to Jezreel 
ordered him, after the message of Jezebel, to leave it, and 
go for his life. Baffled in his high resolve, and thwarted 
in his lofty aims, the prophet felt humbled and abased; 
complaining, petulant, and indignant, he "went for his 
life," or " whither he would." Blindly he went, not know- 
ing whither he was going, or where God was leading him. 
All he knew was that God had interposed between him and 
his cherished purpose to destroy all Baalism in Israel by 
the death of the Phenician woman and the priests that fed 
at her table. And as he was not allov.'ed to do that, instead 
of being cowardly anxious to save his life, he went on his 
unwilling and divinely constrained journey, praying to die, 
because he desired no longer to live. 

We will not enter into the privacy of Elijah's thoughts 
as he traversed the kingdom of Judah and came to Beer- 
sheba. We will not ask how he passed the night in that ex- 
tremest southern Hebrew city. Nor will we h ave any commu- 
nication with the mortified and saddened prophet as next day 
he roams lonely along his wilderness route. We will wait 
till the shades of evening come on, and we find him seated 
with a heavy heart beneath the umbrella-shaped branches 
of the juniper, uttering his plaintive cries in the ears of 
Israel's God. 

Listen to his wail as he requests that death may come to 
his relief: ''It is enough; now, Lord, take away my life; 
for I am not better than my fathers." What is enough? 



UNDER THE JUNIPER. 327 

The prophet thought he had lived long enough — that his 
work on earth was done, and there was nothing more for 
him to do. Why live any longer, if the work to which he 
had been appointed was accomplished? If the Lord had 
use for him on Carmel, but none at Jezreel, why should he 
continue to live? If the Lord would not permit him to 
destroy idolatry in Israel by the means wdiich he had em- 
ployed at the Kishon ; if the Lord, in his contest with Baal- 
ism, had changed his methods; if, in his future dealings 
with the seducers and corrupters of Israel, judgment must 
give place to mercy, the stern and impetuous Tishbite con- 
cludes that Israel's God has no further use for him. He is 
petulant — it may be angry — because he was not suffered 
to have his own way in dealing with the Baalites. Long 
enough, he thinks, has he witnessed their abominations; 
long enough has the land groaned beneath the curses which 
their corrupt practices brought upon it; long enough had 
the true worshipers of God been hounded and persecuted ; 
long enough had he himself been a fugitive and a wanderer 
in the land promised to his fathers ; long enough had God's 
worship been polluted with idols; and long enough had a 
foreign and idolatrous woman and her foreign and idola- 
trous priests lorded it over God's heritage. These wrongs 
called aloud for the Divine vengeance. The sword was the 
fitting instrument to employ for their suppression and de- 
struction. The sword he had used at the Kishon; and the 
sword he was anxious to use in Jezreel. But the Lord 
God, before the victory over the Baalim was complete, had 
commanded him to sheathe it. And yet Jezebel and her 
four hundred priests, who had escaped the slaughter after 
the contest on Carmel, were still alive and defiant. The 
unsubdued queen had even threatened his own life. The 
cursed Phenician woman and her minions were exultant be- 
cause the prophet of Israel's God, who had been victorious 



328 ELIJAH VINDICATED, 

on Carmel, had fled from Jezreel to escape her vengeance. 
The cause of Eaal would recover from the terrible blow 
it had received on the mount. They whose hearts the Lord 
God had turned back again, and who, after the answer by 
fire, had shouted, "The Lord, he is God!" would be ex- 
posed to persecution and death ; they would be disheart- 
ened and return to Baalism now that God's prophet in Is- 
rael had been compelled to flee for his life. Such we be- 
lieve were the expostulations of the Tishbite! such were 
his complaints! Wherefore, he thought he had lived long 
enough, and requested to die. His plaints were not the 
plaints of a coward, but the petulance of one not allowed 
to have his way, and of one indignant because God spared 
the wicked and idolatrous seducers and corrupters of his 
kindred and people. To the Tishbite it was an intolerable 
thing that a faithful servant, who had been very jealous 
for the Lord God of hosts, had to flee from the hated Baal- 
itish woman. What a triumph for the Baalim! What a 
disgrace to the cause of the personal God of Israel ! 

But we see more in the Tishbite's expostulations than 
we have expressed. Elijah prays that he may die. And 
when he prays to die, what does he ask? and why does he 
assign as the reason that he is no better than his fathers? 
Is not this an intimation that it had already been revealed 
to the prophet that he was not to die as his fathers had 
died ? Is it not a hint of the translation, of the ascension in 
the chariot of fire? Is it not indeed a disclosure of the 
manner of his departure from earth? Why should he not 
die? why should he not know the pains of death? His 
fathers before him had known them, and was he better than 
they? Why should such a distinction be awarded to him 
if he was not better than his fathers, if he had done no 
more than they? For could he be better than they, seeing 
that the Lord God had just suffered him to be disgraced 



UNDER THE JUNIPER. 329 

before Israel, and before Ahab, and before Jezebel, and be- 
fore her priests, and before the priests of the Baalim every- 
where? Was he better than they, since he had equally 
failed? Was he better than they, seeing that he was not 
permitted to signalize his prophetic mission by the com- 
plete destruction of Baalism in Israel ? If he had done no 
more than his fathers, was he worthy of the promised trans- 
lation ? and did he not deserve to die even as they had 
died? The Tishbite desired not an honor to which he felt 
he was not entitled. And if so, was not his request more 
than the request of mere petulance? That he was petulant 
there is no doubt. Petulance, and not cowardice, vras his 
failing. But, after all, was not his prayer the request of a 
great and magnanimous soul ? As his work, as he thought, 
was not completed, it was to him a proof that he had done 
no more than others, and therefore was worthy of no greater 
distinction. In truth, he might ask, Was he as successful is 
Samuel ? Had not that mighty prophet of God completely 
rooted Baalism out of the united Israel of his day ? And 
was Samuel translated ? Had he not died ? Had he not 
felt the pains of death as his fathers before him? And 
was Elijah better than Samuel ? Did he deserve an honor 
Samuel had not obtained ? was he entitled to a distinction 
which but one before him had received? and was it not 
awarded to Enoch because, in a corrupter age, his walk had 
been close with God for three hundred long years? As 
Moses, when Jehovah threatened to consume Israel and 
offered to make of himself a great nation, magnanimously 
declined the honor, preferring to die, and to have his own 
name blotted out of the book of God, so Elijah, declining 
the honor of translation, asked to die, as his fathers died« 
Wherefore, though petulant and indignant because his 
great jealousy for the Lord God of hosts had not the grat- 
ification it so intensely desired, was not the prayer of the 



330 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

Tishbite the prayer of a great, unselfish, and magnanimous 
soul? 

Is there any thing improbable in the supposition that his 
translation had already been made known to Elijah? It 
is certain that he knew of it some time before the event. 
Yea, we know — how long before it occurred we cannot say 
— that it was revealed to Elisha, and not to Elisha alone, 
but to the sons of the prophets in the schools at Jericho 
and Bethel. Wherefore, if it had been revealed to Elijah 
before he sat down under the juniper-tree in the wilder- 
ness, is not light thrown upon his prayer to die? and do we 
not more clearly understand the reason assigned for his 
request? Indeed, the prayer to die because he was no bet- 
ter than his fathers has but little significance unless he had 
been told he was not to die as they died, but, like Enochs 
was to be translated without death from earth to heaven. 

The wTong application of the saying of the apostle James 
— to which we have before alluded — has done much to give 
a false coloring to the conduct of Elijah before Jezreel. It 
has been applied as he never intended. The saying, " Elias 
was a man subject to like passions as we are," has been 
pressed into service to sustain the charge of cowardice and 
unbelief St. James said what he did say for the sole pur- 
pose of setting in boldest relief, the preeminent faith of the 
prophet. It was a well-known tradition of the Hebrews — 
and it had a powerful hold upon the Hebrew mind — that 
Elijah was more than man. The stupendous miracles of 
the Tishbite, his marvelous surprisals, his weird and se- 
cluded life, and the impenetrable mystery completely shroud- 
ing his birth, his parentage, his tribe, and all his history 
before his first appearing to Ahab, powerfully impressed the 
Hebrew imagination. It seems to have been the general 
belief of the later Jews that Elijah was not of earth, but 
some manifestation of God, or at least some angelic and 



UNDER THE JUNIPER. 331 

celestial visitant, embodied in human form, who had come 
down from heaven to earth. His sublime translation in 
the chariot of lire so confirmed and intensified this convic- 
tion that they confidently predicted and expected his reap- 
pearance on earth on some mission of extraordinary signifi- 
cance to the Hebrew people. The inspired apostle James 
no doubt knew of these opinions and expectations of his 
kinsmen and countrymen. Whether he so intended or not, 
he corrected these erroneous opinions and guarded against 
these false expectations when he wrote that Elias was a man 
subject to like passions as others. He was not divine, he 
was not angelic, but flesh and blood. He was neither God 
nor angel, but man. He had no powers, no capacities 
which showed that he Avas more than human. Nor does 
St. James say a single word about the relative strength of 
Elijah's passions. There is not the slightest reference to 
any weakness in the prophet. There is nothing from which 
can be inferred any particular or special failing, or liabil- 
ity of failing. There is nothing on which to predicate a 
charge of unbelief or cowardice. Though a man subject 
to like passions as we are, he was a " righteous" man, whose 
prayer was "the effectual fervent prayer." Every thing 
said of the prophet by the apostle is commendatory, and 
only commendatory. There is nothing in the least derog- 
atory in his saying. It is not even hinted that Elijah had 
ever been unbelieving, cowardly, or disobedient. On the 
contrary, if Elijah, because of his flight from Jezreel, had 
been the faithless and disobedient coward he is represented 
by certain writers to have been, St. James never would have 
singled him out as a man of preeminent faith, whose prayer 
so signally withheld and restored the rain. The apostle 
never would have mentioned him — though his prayer did 
that which he said it did — if his faith had so ignominiously 
failed at Jezreel. Such a failure at such a crisis would for- 



332 ELIJAH VINDICATED, 

ever have set Elijah aside as an example of preeminent 
faith. Whatever they may have been in other regards, 
David can never be set up as an example of continence, 
Hezekiah of humility, or Jonah of courage. Be continent 
as David, humble as Hezekiah, or bold as Jonah, would be 
as misapplied as to say, Be as believing and as brave as 
Elijah, if Elijah's faith and courage ingloriously failed him 
at Jezreel, no matter what they were before or afterward. 

When Paul and Barnabas, while the Lycaonians were 
preparing to offer sacrifice to them as Mercury and Jupi- 
ter, cried out, "Sirs, why do ye these things? w^e also are 
men of like passions w^ith you," were those holy and inspired 
apostles no better than the heathen of Lystra? When it 
is said that the Lord Jesus was " made like his brethren," 
that he was "in all points tempted like as we are," was "in 
the likeness of sinful flesh," and " was made in the likeness 
of men," was he no better than we? What do these things 
mean? Simply this: Paul and Barnabas were men — were 
flesh and blood— as well as the Lycaonians; and the Lord 
Jesus was very man — as well as very God — a partaker of 
human flesh and human blood. As well draw from the 
above sayings something against Paul and Barnabas, and 
even against our blessed Lord, as to base a charge of un- 
belief and cowardice against Elijah because St. James says 
that he was a man subject to like passions as we are. His 
saying has not the slightest bearing upon Elijah before 
Jezreel or elsewhere, other than to show that, though a 
man, he prevailed mightily with God. If Elias, who was 
a man of like passions with ourselves, had such faith in 
God, why may not we? This was all th'at St. James meant 
— that, and nothing more. 

Elijah has uttered his plaints. The deep shadows of 
night have settled around him. The man of God, wearied 
and tired by his long journey, and relieved by unloading 



UNDER THE JUNIPER. 333 

the burdens of his troubled heart, falls asleep at the foot 
of the umbrageous juniper. For a time, till God's angel 
awakes thee, sweet be th}^ sleep, true and bold prophet of 
God ! Men may not understand thee, but the great God 
whom thou servest knows that no truer or braver heart 
ever beat in human breast. Israel's God Avatches over thy 
slumbers; he has nothing against thee, though thou hast 
something against him. Yet a little while, and thou shalt 
know all ; yet a little while, and thou shalt know more of 
him. Hitherto thou hast not known him fully as a God 
slow to anger and of great mercy. Thou hast known him 
in the drought, in the famine, in the pestilence, in the 
storm, in the fire, and in the sword. Thou hast known the 
thunders and the lightnings of his power. But soon thou 
shalt know him as the God long-suffering and kind. Soon 
thou shalt have a far deeper insight into his gospel of 
peace and good-will toward men. Soon thou shalt learn 
that his compassions are infinite — that they extend even 
to his enemies, and that he would win them to himself by 
gentleness and love ; and that thou mayest know this, thy 
God is preparing thee for a long journey to Horeb. There 
he will make all plain. Wherefore, while thou canst, 
sweetly take thy rest, bold Tishbite; for Israel's God has 
sent his angel to watch by thy rustic couch beneath the 
juniper, and to supply all needed strength for the long 
and toilsome journey before thee. In the morning thou 
shalt gird thyself; and thy God, taking thee by the hand, 
will lead thee on toward the sacred mount whither he has 
been leading thee, unconscious to thyself, ever since the 
conflict on Carmel. For there he has a revelation for 
thee, and for thee alone of all the men of thy day. On 
Horeb's holy summit he will open thine eyes and show 
thee things to come that are to have their full development 
in Messianic times, when the whirlwind, the earthquake. 



334: ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

and the fire of Sinai shall be succeeded by the still small 
voice of the Mount of Beatitudes. 

While Elijah was sleeping under the juniper, the angel 
of God touched him, and said unto him, ^' Arise and eat^ 
There in the wilderness the prophet saw a cake baken on 
the coals, and a cruse of water at his head. '^And he did 
eat and drink, and laid him down again^ What an honor 
Almighty God conferred on a faithless, cowardly, and dis- 
obedient servant! And yet there is not the slightest evi- 
dence that he was so regarded by the Lord or by his angel. 
There was no upbraiding of Elijah for his flight. There 
was not the remotest reference to it. The angel waits upon 
and administers to him as if he were the most highly ap- 
proved of Heaven. And Elijah expresses no surprise at 
the presence of the celestial messenger. No doubt he had 
received many such visits in the solitudes of Cherith, in 
the upper chamber at Zarephath, and in the caves on Car- 
mel. What passed between them while Elijah was eating, 
and before he fell asleep the second time, we would tell if 
W6 could. All we know is that, after the prophet had suf- 
ficiently slept, the angel, who had kept up his vigils by his 
side, again touched him, and said: ^'^ Arise and eat; because 
the journey is too great for thee.^^ What journey? Elijah 
did not know ; the God who was leading him alone knew. 
^^And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the 
strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb 
the mount of God.'' As long Moses before him fasted at 
Horeb; as long after him the Son of God fasted what time 
he was " led up of the Spirit into the wilderness, to be 
tempted of the devil." 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

ELIJAH ON HOREB. 

FORTY days and forty nights Elijah went in the 
strength of the meat baken on the coals by the 
angel. Was he so long time going to Horeb, "vvhich was 
distant only about one hundred and fifty miles from Beer- 
sheba? From the latter place he had gone one day's jour- 
ney. Hence, if the juniper-tree was on the direct route 
from Beersheba to Horeb, by that much had Elijah dimin- 
ished the distance between them. Did it take the Tishbite 
forty days and nights to go a route of one hundred and 
fifty miles, shortened by a day's travel? If it did, he must 
have gone by very easy stages ; he must have tarried long 
by the way, or wandered about in the wilderness. But as 
it is not said how long he was at Horeb before the Lord 
appeared to him, it may be that he went directly there, and 
that much of the forty days was spent on the mount. How- 
ever this may be, he went forty days and forty nights with- 
out eating or drinking. During that long interval the 
food which God gave him, and which he ate under the 
juniper, kept up his strength. 

In a cave at Horeb, the mount of God, Elijah lodged. 
If this was his first visit, what memories of Jehovah's deal- 
ings with his fathers must it have suggested ! It was here 
— for Sinai and Horeb were used indiscriminately to de- 
note the same mount, or different peaks, very near together, 
of the same mountain — the Israelites came from Rephidim, 
in the fourth month after they fled from Egypt. To the 
Hebrews, in Old Testament times, i: was a most holy, ven- 

(335) 



336 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 



erated, and awful place. This was the mount that burned 
with fire; on its summit the Lord God descended in thun- 
ders and lightnings, in clouds and tempests. It was there 
Jehovah showed to Moses his glory ; it was from thence he 
handed down the commandments written by his own finger 
on tables of stone; and it was from thence, after commun- 
ing with God, Moses went down to the audience of the 
people in the plain below. While Elijah was lodging in a 
cave of this mount the word of the Lord came to him, and 
said unto him, " What doest thou here, Elijah^" 

It is impossible to tell the homilies, the sermons, and the 
exhortations on this question put to Elijah at Horeb. Poor 
Elijah ! How his ears must have tingled if compelled to 
listen to a tithe of the rhetoric and eloquence expended in 
denouncing the unbelief, the cowardice, and the disobedi- 
ence it is claimed the question implies! It has been used 
to whip every poor soul that ever ran away from duty. 
Whenever one has been found to be where he ought not, 
"What doest thou here, Elijah?" has been dinned and 
thundered' in his ears. And such has been the vehement 
indignation with which the prophet's conduct has been de- 
nounced that they, to whom he has been likened, might have 
comforted themselves with the reflection, however faulty 
and sinful they may have been, that they were, after all, 
not half so bad as Elijah the Tishbite. How often have we 
heard such applications of the question as these: "What 
doest thou, a professed adherent of the Lord Jesus, here in 
the gambling-room, or haunt of sensuality or intemperance? 
What doest thou, a real disciple of the Lord, here among 
those who make a mock at his name and a jest of his relig- 
ion? What doest thou, a selfish, godless man, here at the 
table of the Lord Avith those who truly love and serve him ? " 
That "a professed adherent of the Lord Jesus" be found 
" in the gambling-room, or haunt of sensuality or intemper- 



ELIJAH ON HOREB. 337 

ance," that " a real disciple of the Lord " be seen " among 
those who make a mock at his name and a jest of his relig- 
ion," and that " a selfish, godless man" be "at the table of 
the Lord with those who truly love and serve him," are 
indeed awful things, richly deserving the sharpest rebukes. 
But we do not see that the question merits such applica- 
tions. They result from a misapprehension of the ques- 
tion itself and the prophet's conduct. 

Elijah's answer to Jehovah's question is not, as has been 
thoughtlessly charged, an " attempt at," but a true, just, 
and complete vindication. It is no answer of "wounded 
self-love," but an answer sincere and honest. The prophet 
had nothing else to reply, unless " wounded self-love" had 
prompted him to attempt a vindication at the expense of 
truth. '^}}liat doest thou here, Elijah T' is the question. 
The reply, as the facts warrant, is as follows: "Thou, O 
Lord, and thou alone, knowest. I do not know. For thou 
hast brought me here. Thou hast led me a long way 
through the wilderness. Thou gavest me meat to strength- 
en me for a journey thou saidst was too much for me ; but 
thou didst not say whither thou wast leading me. Thou 
knowest I went from Carmel to Jezreel to cut off the abom- 
inable and idolatrous Jezebel and her lying priests, even as I 
slew the priests of Baal. Thou knowest I would not have 
left an idolater in Israel to bow the knee to Baal or kiss 
his image. When I would have cut them off, thou, O Lord, 
didst restrain me. And when Jezebel threatened my life, 
thou, who, to save my life, didst send me to Cherith and 
Zarephath, didst order me to flee from Jezreel. Following 
whither thou didst lead, I went to Beersheba, where thou, 
O Lord, didst dismiss my servant — for what purpose I know 
not — and from thence I went, thy hand leading me, a day's 
journey into the wilderness. What happened under the 
juniper-tree thou knowest* for thou didst hear my plaints 
22 



338 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

when I cried unto thee to take away ray life. I was petu- 
lant — even angry — because thou sparedest Jezebel and her 
hated crew, and wouldest not suffer me to slay them with the 
sword. I appeal to thee, O Lord, whose servant I am, for 
the truth of these things. For thou knowest I have been 
very jealous for the Lord God of hosts; for the children 
of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine 
altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword ; and I, even 
I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away. 
Thou knowest all these things, and dost thou ask, ' What 
doest thou here, Elijah?' Tell me, I pray, thee, O tell me, 
why thou hast brought me to Horeb." 

Such, in its spirit, was Elijah's reply. The Lord God 
does not regard it an evasion or attempt at vindication. 
Having no accusation to bring against his servant — for he 
knows he has been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts, 
and spoken what he believed was the truth in all he charged 
against the children of Israel- — Jehovah, commanding him 
to stand upon the mount, shows why he led him to Horeb. 
^^And, behold the Lord passed by, and a great and strong 
wind rent the mountains, and broke in pieces the rocks before 
the Lord; but the Lord ivas not in the wind: and after the 
wind an earthquake ; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: 
and after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the 
fire: and after the fire a still small voice!' Neither in. the 
whirlwind, nor in the earthquake, nor in the fire, but in 
the still small voice was the Lord God of Israel. ''And it 
was so, when Elijah heard if, that he wrapped his face in his 
mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the 
cave.'* 

Nothing can exceed in sublimity the scene the prophet 
witnessed while standing upon the mount before the Lord. 
It was awfully grand, and baffles description. No language 
can depict it even as conceived. And yet the reality was 



ELIJAH ON HOBEB. 339 

far beyond the loftiest flight of earth-born genius. The 
whirlwind rending the mountains, and breaking in pieces 
the rocks before the Lord; the earthquake shaking the 
solid foundations of Horeb and Sinai ; and the fire, like to 
them both in terrific sublimity, were appalling displays of 
almighty power. And yet the intrepid Tishbite looked on 
unawed when they passed by. But when the still small 
voice was heard, 'EM]ixh " wrapped his face in his mantle, 
and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave." 

Whatever the manifestations which appeared to the 
prophet on the mount, they were symbolic representations 
of the two great methods of procedure that have distin- 
guished God's government in providence and grace. The 
whirlwind, the earthquake, and the fire symbolize the law 
given to Moses ; the still small voice symbolizes the gospel 
of Christ. The first three represent the truth, the justice, 
and the holiness of God; the fourth and last represents 
his goodness, mercy, and love. But it must not be thought 
because God was not then in the three, but in the last, he 
never had been. For he had often been in them before these 
manifestations on Horeb, and he was often in them after- 
ward. Not unfrequently, before Elijah's day, God had em- 
ployed them to execute his judgments. In his day, before 
this grand scenic display on the mount, fire descended on 
Carmel from God out of heaven on Elijah's sacrifice. And 
afterward the devouring flame was sent on the fifties whom 
the wicked King Ahaziah sent to arrest Elijah. Before 
and after the coming of Christ, both under the law and 
the gospel, God's judgments were executed by whirlwind, 
by earthquake, and by fire. But these belonged rather to 
the dispensations of law, and symbolized its administration. 
The still small voice belonged rather to the dispensation 
of mercy, and symbolized its procedure. In the dispensa- 
tion of law, symbols of judgment, but in the dispensation 



340 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

of grace, symbols of mercy were the predominant charac- 
teristics. But neither was ever wholly the one or wholly 
the other. Judgment was always tempered by mercy; 
mercy was always under the restraint of judgment. In the 
Divine mind from the beginning a plan was devised for a 
reconciliation between truth and justice and holiness, which 
demanded the punishment of the offender, and goodness 
and mercy and love, which pleaded for his forgiveness and 
restoration to favor. Until this plan was fully accom- 
plished by the sufferings and death of Christ as a full atone- 
ment, satisfaction, and oblation for sin, law and its sanc- 
tions held predominant sway. But after that, at the cross 
of Christ, mercy and truth met together, and righteousness 
and peace kissed each other, grace and its precious prom- 
ises of pardon and holiness succeeded to the judgment-seat. 
Symbols represented by the whirlwind, the earthquake, and 
the fire were much less frequent; symbols rej^resented by 
the still small voice much more abundant. Under the first 
dispensation, truth and justice and holiness sat on the 
throne of judgment; goodness and mercy and love were 
advocates before them pleading in behalf of the guilty. 
Under the second, goodness and mercy and love are the 
judges; truth and justice and holiness are the law-ofRcers 
of the Sovereign King, to see that none are forgiven who 
have not accepted his royal proclamation of pardon to all 
that believe on the name of his only-begotten Son. 

But what to Elijah was the meaning of the symbolic rep- 
resentations he witnessed on the mount? They cannot mean, 
as applied to him, that God had never been in those sym- 
bolizing his judgments. For if not the whirlwind and the 
earthquake, drought and famine and pestilence and fire and 
sword had been used, in his day, to punish idolatrous Israel 
and their corrupters. All these had been employed at Eli- 
jah's word, before Jehovah passed by him at Horeb; and 



ELIJAH ON HOREB. 341 

the fire, as we have said, afterward destroyed Ahaziah's 
fifties. What, then, was their application to Elijah? How 
did they speak to him? They spoke to him in language, 
however symbolic, that could not be misunderstood. They 
told him the Lord God of Israel had changed his methods 
of dealing with idolatrous Israel. There had been enough 
of punishment — enough of fire and drought, and famine and 
pestilence, and sword and blood. By gentler methods God 
was about to speak to his idolatrous children, and their se- 
ducers. These gentler methods were represented by the 
still small voice. Having tried to win them over to him- 
self by his judgments, and failed, he would henceforth seek 
•to woo his people by gentleness and love. The law and its 
methods having been faithfully tested, the gospel and its 
j^rocedure must take their place. 

But in the symbolic representations Elijah saw there was 
for the human race a much deeper significance. What he 
saw was a revelation of God to Elijah, such as he had never 
had. The stern Tishbite had been well trained in the law, 
but he knew comparatively little of the promised Messiah. 
On Horeb it was more clearly revealed to him that God is 
love — that while truth, justice, and holiness are attributes 
of Jehovah-God, they are but parts of himself The veil 
which obscured the future was uplifted, and God's prophet 
was oriven an insight into that plan of human redemption 
of which God's love is the procuring, Christ's death the 
meritorious, and faith in Christ the instrumental cause. If 
all represented by the still small voice was disclosed to Eli- 
jah, his prophetic ken saw the innocent Lamb of God led 
to tha slaughter, just after Moses and himself conversed 
with Christ "on the mountain apart" about the decease 
their Lord was to accomplish at Jerusalem. He saw what 
the prophet Esaias afterward expressed in words: ''Behold 
my servant, ivhom 1 have choaen; my beloved, in whom my 



342 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 



soul is well pleased: I will put my Spirit upon him, and he 
shall shew judgmerit to the Gentiles. He shall not strive nor 
cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets. A 
bruised reed shall he 7iot break, and smoking flax shall he not 
quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory. And in his 
name shall the Gentiles trust.'' And he heard the still small 
voice gently whispering in the ears of Judea's sorrowing 
sons and daughters : " Come unto me, all ye that labor and are 
heavy-laden, and I will give you rest." '^Let not your heart 
be troubled; ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my 
Father s house are many mansions; if it tvere not so, I would 
have told you. I go to prepare a place for you." "Peace I 
leave with you, my peace I give unto you; not as the world 
giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, nei- 
ther let it be afraid." "J am the resurrection and the life; 
he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live; 
and whosoever llveth and believeth in me shall never die." 

How much of the gospel Avas revealed to Elijah on Horeb 
it is impossible to say. But we are assured that God's good- 
ness, mercy, and love — its distinguishing and predominant 
characteristics^ — appeared to him as he had never seen them 
before. Nor was this the first time God made such a rev- 
elation of himself On the same mount, and standing, it 
is believed, at the entering in of the same cave, or clift of 
the same rock, where Elijah stood, God manifested himself 
to Moses, and made to him a similar disclosure. And it is 
remarkable that both Elijah and Moses had just come from 
scenes of blood, in which God's judgment had fallen heavi- 
ly upon his enemies. The one went to Horeb from the 
slaughter of the priests of Baal at the brook Kishon; the 
other went thither from the slaughter of the Amalekitcs 
in Rephidim. And the Lord descended in a cloud upon 
the mount, and, passing by Moses, proclaimed: "The Lord, 
the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and 



ELIJAH ON HOEEB. 343 

abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, 
forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin." And now 
mark the effects of the sights they saw, and the sounds they 
heard : "And 3Ioses made haste, and boived his head toward 
the earth, and ivorshij^ed ;" and it was so, when Eh'jah 
heard the still small voice, no doubt making to him the 
same, or a proclamation like to that made to Moses, "he 
urapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the 
entering in of the cave." 

Such were the effects of God's revelation of himself as a 
God of goodness, mercy, and love upon Moses and Elijah. 
Both were subdued and awed by it more than by his sub- 
limest displays of almighty power, and by his attributes of 
truth, justice, and holiness; and to us the sayings, "God so 
loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, that who- 
soever believeih in him shoidd not perish, but have everlasting 
life;" "But God commendHh his love toward us, in that, while 
we were yet sinners, Christ died for us; " "He that sparednothis 
own Son, but delivered him up for lis all, how shall he not with 
him also freely give us all things f " and "Behold, what manner 
of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called 
the sons of God," are still small voices the Holy Spirit whis- 
pers in the ears of the contrite and believing, having in 
them more of God than all the thunder of his power. For 
we love him, because he first loved us. In the cross of Christ, 
who was the brightness of the Father's glory and express 
image of his person, God has given the greatest possible proof 
of his love, and the surest possible guarantee that he will 
also freely give all things to them that believe on his Son. 
Around the cross God's glory shines brightest. There is 
no power like the cross to save. It is not the earthquake, 
the darkened sun, the opened graves, the rent vail of the 
temple, nor even the resurrection of Christ from the dead, 
or the ascension to heaven, that draws, melts, subdues, and 



344 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

awes, but the love of Christ, which constrained him to lay- 
down his life for his enemies. ''And I, if I be lifted up 
from the earth, will draw all men unto me,'' expresses that 
which gives to the gospel its greatest attraction and centrip- 
etal force. ''Father, forgive them, for they know not what 
they do^^ is the still small voice that has in it more of God 
— for God is love — than all that was terrible and sublime 
on Carmel or Horeb. 

But we saw, though God was in the still small voice on 
Horeb, it was not to be understood that he had never been or 
would never again be in the whirlwind, the earthquake, and 
the fire. And so we are not to think that because he is in 
the gospel he has never been and never will again be in the 
law. "Bo ive make void the law through faith f God for- 
bid; yea, we establish the law." The law is holy, just, and 
good. Christ came not to destroy, but to fulfill it. The 
still small voice of Jesus of Nazareth, preaching to his dis- 
ciples on the mount, unfolds its inner spiritual meaning. 
The mistake might be made that, because God is love, the 
sanctions of the law are no longer in force, and its judg- 
ments will no more be executed upon the finally wicked. 
So far from this being true, our blessed Lord preserves and 
enforces it with all of its sanctions. The commandments, 
^'Thou shall not kill," and "Thou shall 7iot commit adultery," 
he declares are not only still binding, but exceeding broad, 
so reaching to the thoughts and intents of the heart that 
they are broken if one is so much as angry with his brother 
or looks upon a woman to lust after her. 

Hence, we are not to understand that because God is love 
he forgives, without conditions, all transgression and sin. 
This is utterly to mistake and misapply the meaning of the 
still small voice. Mercy offers pardon to the sinner, but 
upon the express condition that forgiveness is asked with 
penitential sorrow and with implicit faith in Christ as the 



ELIJAH ON IIOBEB. 345 

only Saviour from sin. The cross does not take away God's 
hatred of sin, but displays far more clearly his utter ab- 
horrence of it. The still small voice is a greater convincer 
of sin than the thunders and lightnings of Sinai and the 
whirlwind, earthquake, and fire of Horeb. The cross not 
only reveals God's hatred of sin, but discloses to the sinner 
his damning guilt. Whenever there is true conviction the 
penitent sees that his sins helped to nail Jesus to the ac- 
cursed tree; and whenever there is genuine contrition he 
looks upon him whom his own hands have pierced, and 
mourns as a mother mourneth for the loss of her first-born. 
Hence, to resist the still small voice of the Spirit calling to 
repentance and faith in Christ is the sin of deepest dye, 
meriting the terrible punishments of that law from whose 
curse the blessed Jesus came to deliver us. It is as true 
now — yea, much truer, for where much is given much will 
be required — that, though God, as he proclaimed from 
Horeb, is "the Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gra- 
cious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, 
keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and trans- 
gression and sin," he "will by no means clear the guilty; 
visiting the iniquities of the fathers upon the children, and 
upon the children's children, unto the third and fourth 
generation." The guiltiest is the unbeliever; the most 
damning sin is unbelief " He that despised Moses's law 
died without mercy under two or three witnesses; of how 
much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought 
worthy who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and 
hath counted the blood of the covenant, Avherewith he was 
sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the 
Spirit of grace? For we know him that said. Vengeance 
belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And 
again, The Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful 
thing to fall into the hands of the living God." Where- 



346 ELIJAH VINDICATED, 

fore, see that ye refuse not liim that speaketh with the still 
small voice. " For if they escaped not who refused him 
that spake on earth, much more shall not w^e escape if we 
turn away from him that speaketh from heaven; whose 
voice then shook the earth ; but now he hath promised, 
saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also 
heaven. . . . For our God is a consuming fire." Hear the 
still small voice proclaiming, " Except ye repent, ye shall 
all likewise perish." "He that believeth not shall be 
damned." *'The Son of man shall send forth his angels, 
and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that 
offend, and them which do iniquity; and shall cast them 
into a furnace of fire; there shall be wailing and gnashing 
of teeth." "Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, 
Bethsaida! . . . And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted 
nnto heaven, shall be brought down to hell!" " Woe unto 
you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! . . . Ye serpents, ye 
generation of vipers! how can ye escape the damnation of 
hell?" 

But we must return to Elijah. When the prophet stood 
in the entering in of the cave, the voice of the Lord, after 
the still small voice had passed by, said unto him the sec- 
ond time: "JVJiat doest ihou here, JElijahf And he gave 
the same answer he gave when the question was first asked. 
The question is identically the same ; and the prophet's an- 
swer to it, when asked the second time, is the same he gave 
at the first, word for word. 

Poor Elijah! Plow he has been belabored here for im- 
pudence and obstinacy! What! Presumptuous prophet, 
do you dare to repeat your evasive ansv;er and attempt at 
vindication after such a manifestation of the glory and 
majesty of the Lord God of hosts? Why do you not con- 
fess your want of faith and your cowardice and disobedience 
at Jezreel? Why do you not take back your evasive and 



ELIJAH O.Y nOREB, 347 

dissembling answer on Horeb ? Why do you not humble 
yourself in the dust, and ask the forgiveness of your mer- 
ciful, gracious, and long-suffering God ? Why do you not 
acknowledge that, to save your life, you basely and cow- 
ardly ran away from Jezreel and duty? Would it not 
have been infinitely better, even if you had lost your life 
in Jezreel and to the cause of God and duty had died a 
martyr there? Do you not hear the still small voice call- 
ing upon you to repent in sackcloth and ashes, and implore 
the Divine pardon? and do you not see in it the proof^— 
coward as you are, unbelieving and disobedient, evasive 
and dissembling as you are— that your gracious God is will- 
ing to forgive even such a weak, timid, faithless, and diso- 
bedient servant? 

Poor Elijah! we repeat. Never was true, brave, obedi- 
ent, and faithful servant to God and duty so misunderstood 
and so misrepresented! For never did Elijah the Tishbite, 
in all his weird and marvelous story, appear truer, braver, 
nobler, and grander than when he returned to the twice- 
asked question of his God the same answer he gave the 
first time. He was indeed subdued by the Divine presence ; 
he stood in the entering in of the cave with his face wrapped 
in his mantle, expressive of the profoundest reverential awe. 
But the prophet of God has such courage of his convic- 
tions that he returns the same answer; he is profoundly 
conscious of his integrity, jealous for the cause of his God, 
and believes in his inmost soul that he has spoken the truth. 
Xor is his answer changed, now that he surely knows, 
Avhatever may have been his former convictions, the Lord 
God has altered his methods of dealing with Baalism and 
idolatrous Israel. For that was the lesson which was un- 
mistakably taught him when he found that God was not 
in the wliirhvind or earthquake or fire, but in the still 
small voice. It is now made certain that God will deal 



848 ELIJAH VTXDICATED. 

•with the Baalitish question by gentler methods than drought 
and famine, fire and sword. But this suits not the jealous 
soul of the impetuous Tishbite. He still thinks the work 
of extermination begun at the Kishon should be carried 
on, and never cease, until all Baalism is destroyed in Is- 
rael. And he is persuaded that can never be done so long 
as Jezebel and her priests are suffered not only to live but 
to have the controlling influence over Ahab and his court. 
His first answer was an expostulation with God for forbid- 
ding him to enter Jezreel, and making him flee from it for 
his life. He has no other answer to give to the repeated 
question, now that he knows, from the symbolic representa- 
tions on Horeb, why he was compelled to leave the city of 
Ahab. The zeal of the Tishbite was not unlike the subse- 
quent zeal of James and John Avhen they wished their 
Lord to call fire doAvn from heaven to consume the cities 
that rejected the preaching of the apostles. The answer 
of the prophet bears a resemblance to that of Peter, who, 
after our Lord announced to his disciples the death he was 
to suffer at Jerusalem, *' took him, and began to rebuke Jiim, 
saying, Be it far from thee. Lord; this shall not be unto thee.'* 
St. Paul, in his Epistle to the Komans, calls Elijah's an- 
swer on Horeb an ^^intercession to God agahist Israel." 
" Wot ye not,'' says the apostle, " what the Scripture saith of 
Ellas f how he maketh intercession to God against Israel.'' 
St. Paul represents the prophet, by his answer, arraigning 
Israel for idolatry, profanation, and murder, and plead- 
ing with God not to show mercy, but to smite and con- 
sume. Hence, the second reply of the Tishbite may not 
inaptly be interpreted thus: "I have no other answer, O 
Lord, to make to thy repeated question than the one first 
made. For thou knowest, I again reply, I have been very 
jealous for the Lord God of hosts. Thou knowest, O Lord 
God of Israel, I would have cut off them that have for- 



ELIJAH ON HOREB. 349 

saken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, slain thy 
prophets with the sword, and now seek my life, to take it 
away. And hast thou changed thy methods of dealing 
with Baalism in Israel? Hast thou no more use for fire 
and sword? Art thou less jealous for thine own honor 
than I thy servant am ? If not for thine own sake, O 
Lord, wilt thou not avenge the wrongs of thine innocent, 
faithful, loyal, and persecuted prophets, who were slain 
with the sword by the cruel and idolatrous Phenician wom- 
an after having endured so much for the honor of thy name, 
and for thine house and worship? Wilt thou not pursue 
with fire and sword the foreign corrupters of thy people 
Israel? Wilt thou not remember the covenant made with 
our fathers, and destroy the idolatrous aliens who have se- 
duced their sons ? Wilt thou not avenge me, O Lord, who 
have remained so long, and in such trying times, faithful to 
thee and thy worship ? Wilt thou not avenge thy servant 
upon those who even now are seeking his life? Speak, O 
Lord God of hosts, O speak the word only, and send me 
back to Jezreel, even as thou didst send me to Carmel! 
Give, O give to me the same authority and powder thou 
gavest me at the brook Kishon, and I will not leave an 
idolater in Israel ! " 

Search the historic page, ancient or modern, sacred or 
profane, and there never was a more consistent character 
than Elijah the Tishbite. Loyalty to his God was his dis- 
tinguishing trait. True in its letter, and in its spirit, w^as 
his own averment : "/ have been very jealous for the Lord 
God of hosts." Every act of his life must be interpreted 
by it, and was perfectly consistent with it. When Elijah's 
God, as we have seen, laid his hand upon and took away the 
life of -the young son of the widow woman of Zarephath, 
whose humble cottage had afforded him a lodging and a ref- 
uge from his enemies, he felt that God's honor was at stake. 



350 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

His jealousy for the Lord God of hosts was so stirred that 
nothing would satisfy him but the raising of the dead boy to 
life again. And when he was not allowed to use the sword in 
Jezreel, and was compelled to flee from it, the same jealousy 
which made him expostulate with God for the death of the 
widow's son, and agonize for his restoration to life, extorted 
the passionate appeals under the juniper, that God would 
take his life and let him die as his fathers had died. The 
same jealousy, which was moved because God brought death 
into the House of his benefactress, was excited to passionate 
remonstrance because God sjoared the cursed woman in Jez- 
reel and her execrable minions. The entreaties in the up- 
per chamber in the Zidonian city, while stretched upon the 
dead corpse of the child of the Avoman whose hospitality he 
shared, were intensely fervid from jealousy for the honor of 
his God. Wounded jealousy stirred him at Zarephath to 
remonstrate against taking away the life of the boy ; wound- 
ed jealousy incited him under the juniper to decline the 
honor of translation, and to passionately cry for his own 
death ; and wounded jealousy moved him at Horeb to make 
intercession to God against idolatrous Israel. 

Nowhere was the consistent loyalty of the stern and bold 
prophet of God, nowhere w^as his exceeding great jealousy 
for the Lord God of hosts, so conspicuously and so grandly 
manifested as on Horeb. Neither the whirlwind, nor the 
earthquake, nor the fire, nor the awe-inspiring majesty of 
the still small voice of the Almighty God, swerved him a 
hair-breadth from his first answer to the question, " What 
doest thou here, Elijah f " Horeb beneath his feet was not 
as firm as Elijah the prophet of God.- The earthquake 
might stir the mount of God to its deep foundatious; the 
whirlwind might break in pieces, and the fire might melt 
its solid rocks before the Lord ; the awful Shekinah in the 
still small voice might subdue into profoundest reverence 



ELIJAH ON HORKB. 351 

the Tislibite, and cause him to hide his face in his mantle, 
but could not shake the courage of the convictions of his 
heroic soul, or make the slightest change in his truthful an- 
SNver. 

Grand prophet of God ! The Lord God of hosts brings 
no charge of unbelief or cowardice or disobedience against 
thee ; neither will we. He Avas no coward, or faithless and 
disobedient servant, whom Almighty God honored with the 
sublimest scenic display ever witnessed on earth, and, on his 
departure from it, with the ascension in the chariot of fire, 
borne aloft by horses of fire, and afterward with the sight of 
the transfiguration of Him whose still small voice he heard 
on Horeb ; but one of the grandest, if not the grandest, of 
earth-born heroes, and the most loyal and faithful of the 
prophets of God. The ascension and the sight of the 
transfiguration were a double honor, which no one received 
but Elijah the Tishbite. Enoch was translated, but did not 
witness the transfiguration; Moses witnessed the transfigu- 
ration, but was buried in a valley in the land of Moab; 
Elijah was translated, and w^as present w^hen Jesus was 
transfigured on " the mountain apart." 



CHAPTER XXVII. 

Elijah's failings. 

THE Lof d Ood of Israel is not moved from his gracious 
and merciful plan by the remonstrance of his true and 
faithful serv^jnt. He has announced his purpose to change 
his methods of dealing with Baalism, nor will he depart 
from it. But he does not condemn his prophet. For Eli- 
jah has been loyal and faithful to the work he sent him to 
do. His complaints and petulance are condoned, and go 
unrebuked, because they have proceeded from exceeding 
great jealousy for the Lord of hosts. Yet his work is al- 
most done ; other work the Lord has to be done, but it is to 
be done by another. That other is to be Elijah's successor 
— a man as well fitted for the part soon to be assigned him 
as Elijah was for the part which he had to perform in the 
great drama then being enacted in Israel. Methods con- 
formable to the law were the methods suited to Elijah; 
methods typical of the gospel are the methods adapted to 
Elijah's successor. The Lord God had no fault to find with 
Elijah, even as he had no fault to find with his own 
holy, good, and righteous law. For never was there one 
better qualified to administer law, and enforce its sanctions, 
than the stern and bold Tishbite. But as the law itself, 
under the Messiah, was to be superseded by the gospel, so 
now, as typical of that change, there was to be, for the time, 
a change of administration. Not that the law was to be 
annulled, its obligations cease, and its sanctions repealed; 
for its sanctions were to continue, and its moral precepts 
were to remain forever a rule of conduct. And it was not 
that the gospel, for the first time, was to be introduced ; for 
(352) 



Elijah's failings. 353 

it had been in the world since God's first promise to apos- 
tate man. The gospel had always been God's plan for sav- 
ing sinners ; by the deeds of the law no one had ever been 
or could be justified. Faith in an atonement to be made, 
and in a Saviour promised, was always the only ground of 
forgiveness and acceptance with God. Abel's faith in the 
sacrifice of the promised Messiah obtained for him the wit- 
ness that he was righteous ; and Abraham's faith in the 
same sacrifice secured for him the same testimony. In Le- 
viticus, salvation by faith in Christ, though veiled in types 
and rituals and offerings, was as surely a scriptural doctrine 
as in the Gospels and Epistles. Until the fullness of time 
was come the law and its sanctions, but when that time 
was come the gospel and its precious promises, were most 
prominent in the Divine administration. Hence the one, 
by way of distinction, was the administration of justice; the 
other, tlie dispensation of grace. The first, in its final de- 
velopment, preceded the second, and prepared the way for 
its full consummation. Even before the coming of Christ, 
God not unfrequently showed what would be the Divine ad- 
ministration under the gospel. He had just shown through 
Elijah, by the judgments which he sent upon Israel, what 
the law^ and its sanctions were; he now intends, through 
Elisha, by a dispensation of gentleness and mercy, to reveal 
what the gospel and its promises would be under the Mes- 
siah. Elijah administered the law; Elisha proclaimed the 
gospel. Elijah was the exponent of Moses; Elisha was the 
type of Christ. Under Elijah, God dealt with idolatrous 
Israel by the law and its sanctions; under Elisha, by the 
gospel and its offers of pardon. Justice was administered 
by the one ; mercy was dispensed by the other. Law and 
its methods reigned under the one; grace and its procedure 
under the other. 

But before we come to that part of the answer of the 
23 



354 ELIJAH riNDTCATEB. 

Lord God which indicated both a change of prophets and 
of administration, we pause to consider the real failings of 
the Tishbite. Elijah had his failings, but he was not a 
failure. The prophet thought he was, because he had not 
been permitted to accomplish all his impetuous zeal had 
urged. Besides, what he really had done was hidden from 
him. Not until the questions and answers on Ploreb was 
he told there were seven thousand who had not bowed the 
knee to Baal. But the prophet did not know them, though 
perhaps they knew him, or at least they knew of him. He 
had not been for so long time, and in such days of declen- 
sion and apostasy, faithful and loyal in vain. It was 
known to God's people that there was a true and bold proph- 
et in Israel, clothed with power and authority from the 
Lord God of their fathers. His loyalty and daring exert- 
ed a secret but powerful influence upon many others — upon 
many thousands, as the number seven implies. That there 
was such a prophet in Samaria was a great incentive to 
others to be true to covenant-keeping Jehovah. Hence 
the Tishbite, even if he had done nothing more than what 
was done on Carmel, was very far from being a failure. 
Outside of the personal acts of the Lord Jesus thei^e was 
nothing in all the Scriptures grander than the contest with 
the priests of Baal, nothing more pregnant with results to 
the cause of the personal God of the Hebrews than the 
answer by fire. It decided, and it decided forever, that 
Jehovah alone is God; and it gave to all Baalism the 
death-wound from which it has never recovered, and from 
which, sooner or later, it must die. 

Among the failings of the Tishbite petulance surely, and 
perhaps anger, must be reckoned. And to them, as a nat- 
ural sequence, must be added impatience and a dissatisfac- 
tion with the Divine administration of the affairs of Israel. 
But these failings came not from selfishness, vanity, or 



ELIJAH'S FAILINGS. 355 

ambition, but from intense loyalty to his God, from a con- 
suming zeal for his honor, and from a burning desire to 
put an end to idolatry in Samaria and to silence forever 
every form of opposition to the personal God of Israel. 
Jehovah's methods of dealing with the Baalitish question 
were too slow and merciful for the impetuous and zealous 
Tishbite. He was fretted by the abominations of Ahab 
and Jezebel, and by the spectacle of foreign idolatrous 
priests lording it over the successors of Levi; and he was 
indignant because the Lord God would not suffer him to 
cut off all idolaters in Samaria. The Tishbite's feelings 
toward the idolatrous opposers of the God of the Hebrews 
were the feelings which the psalmist before him felt and 
expressed in impassioned numbers : " Do not I hate them, 

Lord, that hate thee ? I hate them with perfect hatred ; 

1 count them mine enemies." And he did no more than 
the psalmist when the latter prayed: "Consume them 
in wrath, consume them that they may not be; and let 
them know that God ruleth in Jacob unto the ends of the 
earth." Did the prophet do more than the psalmist when 
the psalmist cried, " Let burning coals fall upon them ; let 
them be cast into the fire?" or than when he uttered the 
imprecation, " Bow thy heavens, O Lord, and come down ; 
touch the mountains, and they shall smoke. Cast forth 
lightnings, and scatter them; shoot out thine arrows, and 
destroy them?" And what more did the Tishbite than 
they whose souls St. John saw under the altar, that had 
been slain for the word of God, and for the testimony 
which they held ? Did he not hear them crying with a 
loud voice, and saying: "How long, O Lord, holy and 
true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them 
that dwell on the earth ? " If the martyrs, whose robes 
were washed in the blood of the Lamb, cried out from be- 
neath the altar in heaven for vengeance upon their perse- 



356 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

cutors still alive upon the earth, surely it was not surpris- 
ing when Elijah made intercession to God against idolatrous 
and murderous Israel, that had slain his brethren the 
prophets with the sword, and were even then seeking his 
own life to take it away. 

These imprecatory intercessions of the prophet, the 
psalmist, and the martyrs in heaven proceeded not from 
malice or revenge, but from indignation at the persecutions 
of the faithful, and from the conviction that God ought to 
avenge their wrongs, execute justice, and vindicate his own 
righteous government. They were appeals to him, as the 
rightful King and Judge in Israel, to maintain his sover- 
eignty and, by enforcing its pronounced and just penalties, 
to uphold his law. That law punished idolatrous offenders 
with death. Many in Israel were clearly and confessedly 
guilty of its open and flagrant infraction. To the sin of 
idolatry they had added the sin of putting to death many 
of God's true and obedient servants. And if the law of 
Israel's theocratic Sovereign and Judge condemned them, 
much more did it condemn the foreign priests who seduced 
them from their allegiance, corrupted their morals, and in- 
cited them to idolatry, rebellion, and murder. When, then, 
God's servants on earth or in heaven called upon him to 
punish idolatrous rebels and murderers, they invoked him 
to punish them according to his own law, to pass judicial 
sentence upon them, and to see to it that the sentence was 
faithfully executed. They who were alive asked it for their 
own protection and safety; both the living sufferers and the 
dead martyrs demanded it for the sake of their wronged 
and persecuted brethren, and for the honor and authority 
of their Almighty Sovereign. And in doing this they did 
no more than all true and loyal subjects of an earthly mon- 
arch who wish that the authority of their rightful king 
may be vindicated, and that the rebels who would over- 



ELIJAH'S FAILINGS. 357 

throw and dethrone him may receive their just deserts, and 
be put out of the way of doing injury to themselves, to 
their brethren, and to the government of their love and 
choice. 

But we are not to suppose, from the invocation of the 
martyrs beneath the altar, that the happiness of saints in 
heaven is disturbed by transactions on earth, and that they 
are impatient because God delays to avenge their death. 
The scene which St. John beheld in apocalyptic vision was 
a symbolic representation ; for nothing interrupting the en- 
joyments of the saints is allowed to enter the paradise of bliss 
to which their souls are introduced on their separation from 
the body. In a world where faith is lost in sight, and where 
they know even as also they are known, it is not likely that 
any dissatisfaction with the Divine administration ever exists. 
To the government of heaven's Eternal King the redeemed 
from earth implicitly submit, forever assured that the Judge 
of quick and dead will do right, and are never affected by a 
single questioning doubt. Hence, we are not to conjecture 
that St. John actually heard the martyrs invoking the 
vengeance of the Almighty upon their persecutors, and 
expostulating with him for his long delay to avenge their 
wrongs. The whole is symbolic of God's hatred of sin, and 
the certainty of punishment, though long delayed. And 
how could this be more forcibly portrayed than by repre- 
senting his faithful martyrs crying beneath the altar for 
vengeance on their murderers? Will not God avenge his 
own elect on earth which cry day and night unto him, 
though he bear long with them? and will he not much 
rather avenge those in heaven, who were slain for his word 
and for the testimony which they held? The whole mean- 
ing of the symbolic representation is that God as truly re- 
members the wrongs of the saints as if they were brought 
to his notice by their passionate pleadings for vengeance. 



358 ELIJAH VINDICATED, 

All auger, malice, and revenge applied to saints in heav- 
en — no matter what their wrongs may have been on earth 
' — are as figurative and symbolic as when applied to the 
great God of infinite mercy and love. And since he is rep- 
resented as being angry with the wicked, and hating all 
workers of iniquity, like feelings are ascribed to the saints; 
and as vengeance belongeth to him, so likewise is it ascribed 
to them. But how can hateful and vengeful passions be 
imputed to him who so loved even his enemies that he gave 
his well-beloved and only-begotten Son to die for them? 
How can the gentleness and meekness of the innocent and 
spotless Lamb be turned into revenge and wrath ? And how 
can saints who have the Spirit of Christ — else they are 
none of his — entertain such feelings? Is not love to their 
enemies and persecutors their distinguishing characteristic, 
even as it was his ? Wherefore, if the great God who is 
unchangeable is actually angry with the wicked, and actu- 
ally hates all workers of iniquity, how can he change an- 
ger and hatred into mercy and love ? No spiritual alche- 
my, by any possibility, can transmute anger and hatred 
into such mercy and love as were manifested in the gift of 
God's only-begotten Son; nor can any spiritual alchemy 
reverse the process, and turn mercy and love back again 
into anger and hate. If mercy and love are unchangeable 
attributes of the infinite and immutable God, there is no 
possible place in his nature for their opposites. Hence, 
strictly and correctly speaking, God is always love. God 
never hates. He loves even when he punishes ; and when 
he punishes, anger and vengeance are metaphorically as- 
scribed to him. They are always comparative or relative 
terms when applied to God. He loves when he pardons, 
and he loves when he condemns ; he loves when he gives, 
and he loves when he denies. The change is relative or 
comparative. To the truly penitent, the believing, and the 



ELIJAH'S FAILINGS. 359 

obedient, it becomes the love of complacency ; to the im- 
penitent, the unbelieving, and the disobedient, it is what it 
always was, is now, and ever shall be — 'the love of pity. 
A merciful aud loving earthly father loves the child whom 
he corrects with the rod. And yet the mercy and love of 
an earthly father may be so affected by repeated acts of 
disobedience and rebellion as to be turned into cruelty and 
hate. But God's mercy and love are unchangeable. While 
he cannot pardon the disobedient and rebellious, and take 
them to heaven, he never ceases to pity and to love them, 
though unforgiven and lost. " If thou hadst known, even 
thou, the things which belong unto thy peace," shall be our 
blessed Lord's eternal plaint, because forever hid from the 
eyes of those whom he gave his life to save, and whom he 
loves with an everlasting love of pity. 

Eeturning to the imprecations of the martyrs in heaven, 
we have seen that the whole representation is symbolic, and 
had no actual existence. But whether symbolic or not, 
prayers for vengeance were ascribed to them. AVherefore, 
if it were not out of place to ascribe to them such impreca- 
tions, they were not improper in Elijah and David. AVhat 
would not be wrong in a saint in heaven surely is not wrong 
in a saint on earth ; and that it is not wrong in either is 
because, as we have seen, revenge, when applied to the 
saints, must be understood as when it is applied to God. It 
is relative or comparative ; it is figurative or metaphorical, 
and not that either God himself or any one who has the 
Spirit of Christ actually knows anger and hate as the car- 
nal mind knows them. 

But if the imprecations of the martyrs were real, and not 
symbolic, they go unrebuked. God does not rebuke them 
for their appeals to be avenged on their persecutors. He 
approves them ; he gives white robes unto every one of thera. 
"And it was said unto them that they should rest yet for a 



360 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 



little season, until their fellow-servants also and their breth- 
ren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled." 
They were requested to wait, and to leave the issues with 
God. For sentence against an evil work is not always ex- 
ecuted speedily. Punishment is often delayed. It is de- 
layed that all long-suffering and mercy may be shown even 
to the slayers of the saints. As Christ died for the very 
men who crucified him ; as he freely forgives all who repent, 
so will he forgive the contrite, though they were present 
consenting to the death of his saints, or slew them with 
their own hands. By goodness and mercy God would 
lead them to repentance and to faith in Christ. But what 
if they continue impenitent and incorrigible? Nothing is 
lost by delay. The punishment is sure; and it is only 
the surer if they have abused God's forbearance and long- 
suffering. For time is nothing with God. One day is with 
the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one 
day. And all judgment belongeth to God. Wherefore 
the government of the affairs of the universe should be left, 
with implicit faith, in his hands. Prophets and psalmists, 
saints in heaven and saints on earth should commit all 
judgment to him. Vengeance is his; and he will repay 
when it is needed, and as it is just. 

But as neither prophets nor psalmists, nor any others, 
know what influence God's forbearance and long-suffering 
may have on the wicked whom he permits to live on the 
earth, it is plainly the duty of the saints below to try to win 
them over, by like gentleness and love, to the cross of Christ. 
"Blessed are ye," says Christ who died for all, "when men 
shall revile you and persecute you, and shall say all manner 
of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Bejoice, and be 
exceeding glad; for great is your reward in heaven; for so 
persecuted they the prophets which were before you." " But 
I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse 



ELIJAH'S FAILINGS, 361 

you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them 
which despitefully use you, and persecute you; that ye may 
be the children of your Father which is in heaven ; for he 
maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and 
sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust." And an in- 
spired apostle says : " Dearly beloved, avenge not your- 
selves; but rather give place unto wrath; for it is written, 
Vengeance is mine ; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore, 
if thine enemy hunger, feed him ; if he thirst, give him 
drink; for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his 
head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with 
good." 

These were lessons which the still small voice on Horeb 
taught Elijah. The delay to punish idolatrous persecutors 
in Israel, and to avenge his own and his slaughtered breth- 
ren's wrongs, made him despondent, petulant, and dissatis- 
fied with the Divine administration. This was Elijah's 
failing. Kor has it, since his day, been an uncommon fault 
with the true servants of God. His methods are often too 
slow for the impetuous and fiery. And to those who are 
very jealous for the Lord God of hosts — especially if they 
have been sufferers in his cause — his dealings seem too 
merciful and lenient. They would take government into 
their own hands, and make a short, and, as they believe, 
decisive campaign against sin and wickedness. And this 
feeling is intensified if the wicked and sinning are in honor 
and authority, and u*e their power to persecute and to slay. 
Knowing that all power is with the Almighty One of Israel, 
and that he can at a single blow overwhelm and destroy 
his enemies, they become petulant and impatient if he in- 
terpose not with the thunder of his might to avenge them 
on their oppressors. To suffer wrongfully in the cause of 
their King — to be wanderers and outcasts in his realm, to 
live in dens and caves, to know derision and scorn, pover- 



362 ELIJAH VINDICATED, 



ty and want, imprisonment and stripes, while rebels are 
in liigii places, in affluence, and in authority and power — 
seems to the loyal and obedient hard to be borne. At such 
times, to possess their souls in patience, and aAvait the slow 
developments of providence, is the hardest trial which 
those who are very jealous for their God have to endure. 
To see the cause of their Divine Sovereign opposed and 
unsuccessful; to have repeated failures recorded against 
themselves, while triumph after triumph crowns the wicked 
eflbrts of their exultant foes, demands the most heroic faith, 
and a patience like to that of the Lamb that was dumb be- 
fore his shearers, and opened not his mouth when led to the 
slaughter. But in such circumstances, so lofty is the virtue 
required that if the complaining sufferers are actuated solely 
by loyalty to God and zeal for his cause, and not by spirit- 
ual pride or vainglory, the Most High sympathizes with 
them, and bears with them as with the martyrs whose souls 
St. John beheld beneath the altar. For they do not and 
cannot see the end from the beginning as God sees it ; nei- 
ther have they entered into his counsels, nor could they 
comprehend them if they had. Where mercy should 
end and justice begin is known to God alone. Where- 
fore the Holy and the Just One of Israel does not blame 
them for not knowing what they cannot know. He 
treats such complaining children as a good and wise earth- 
ly parent treats a son dutiful and loving, but complain- 
ing because too young to comprehend his plans. For the 
father knows that if the son were older, and could see into 
his plans just as he sees them, his judgment would be as his 
own. 

Neither are we judges of God's designs, nor of our own 
success. Elijah's petulance arose mainly from two causes: 
first, he did not have a proper comprehension of GchFs 
plans; second, he saw not the results of his labors. Not 



ELIJAH S FAILINGS. 



363 



comprehending the plans, he complained because God did 
not continue to punish with the sword; not seeing such 
fruits of his work as he desired, and hastily concluding that 
he was a failure, he petulantly asked to die. By the still 
small voice God gave him an insight into his future plans of 
gentleness and mercy. These were to be God's procedure in 
Israel, at least for the time. For if Israel should remain 
rebellious and idolatrous, and not be led to repentance by 
the forbearance and mercy about to be shown to their rul- 
ers, the new procedure was to be exchanged for severer 
measures. But Elijah was not to be the one to employ 
them ; fur Elijah had enough of blood upon his hands. And 
yet even he was to pronounce God's judgments upon Ahab 
and Jezebel for their guilt in the afiair of Naboth's vine- 
yard ; and he was to call fire down from God out of heaven 
upon the fifties of the abominable Ahaziah. Hence the 
Lord God's reply to the prophet's rejoinder to his twice- 
asked question: ''Go, return on thy ivmj to the wilderness of 
Damascus; andivhen thou comest, anoint Hazael to he king 
over Syria; and Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to 
he king over Israel; and Elisha the son of Shaphat, of AheU 
meholah, shalt thou anoint to he iwophet in thy room. And it 
shall come to pass, that him that escapeth the sword of Hazael 
shall Jehu slay ; and him that escapeth from the sword of Jehu 
shall Elisha slay." Hazael, who was to be anointed king 
over Syria, and Jehu, who was to be anointed king 
over Israel, were to be the instruments by which Jehovah 
would punish Jezebel, her wicked sons, and, if they contin- 
ued impenitent, rebellious and idolatrous Israel. Elijah's 
successor, by wdiom God's changed and merciful plans were 
to be carried out, was Elisha the son of Shaphat, of Abel- 
meholah. Nor did the still small voice on Horeb withhold 
from Elijah the results of his labors in Israel. To show 
him that his work was not a failure, the Lord God gra- 



364 ELIJAH VINDICATED, 

ciously and condescendiogly assures his faithful, bold, and 
loyal but despondent and complaining servant that he 
had left seven thousand in Israel, " all the knees luhich hath 
not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not hissed 
him." 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 

ELISHA OF ABEL-MEHOLAH. 

A FTER the scenes on Horeb, Elijah proceeded to ex- 
-<-JL ecute the commands of the Lord God of Israel. 
Hazael and Jehu, however, were not to be anointed by his 
hands, but by the hands of his successor. It was a revela- 
tion to Elijah of what was to be; the anointing of the 
kings was to be done by him through another. Elisha 
was the only one whom he himself was to induct into of- 
fice. Accordingly, he went straight to Abel-meholah, and 
by the route to Damascus, as the Lord directed. From 
Horeb he went through the valley of the Jordan on its 
eastern bank. The care of the Lord God for his servant 
is seen in the road which he ordered him to take. The 
route beyond Jordan, through mountainous Gilead, he was 
to follow, because it was the safest. Instead of sending 
him back to Jezreel — from which some would have us 
believe Elijah ingloriously fled — God puts the wilderness 
beyond Jordan between him and the avenging Jezebel. In- 
stead of ordering him back to the work in Jezreel, which 
it is said he ignominiously abandoned, the prophet's God 
selects the route which was farthest from it and less likely 
to be beset by the minions of Ahab's maddened queen. 
The same God who, to save the Tishbite's life, sent him to 
Cherith and Zarephath, and led him to Horeb, sends him 
by the way to Damascus beyond Jordan. 

At Abel-meholah the prophet ar^:ives. To this " Meadow 
of the Dance," as the name in Hebrew implies, the Midi- 
anites fled what time Gideon and his valiant three hundred 

(365) 



366 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

routed them in the plain of Megiddo, and drove them over 
the Jordan. It was situate somewhere within the borders 
of Manasseh, among the impregnable heights and difficult 
ravines of the hills of Gilead. There, in some valley or 
on some hill-side, was found the man who was appointed 
to be the Tishbite's successor. Before this tiller of the soil 
were twelve yoke of oxen plowing, and he with the twelfth. 
The grave Tishbite, without ritual, without speaking a word, 
cast his mantle upon the plowman as he followed his plow, 
and passed on. This was the whole ceremony of the in- 
vestiture, though the novitiate was to succeed the grandest 
of the Old Testament prophets, and was himself to be sec- 
ond only to him. This symbolic action of Elijah was well 
understood by Elisha. What secret divine communication 
before or at the time was made to the son of Shaphat we 
cannot tell; nor do we know that he had ever seen Elijah, 
or that Elijah had ever seen him, before they met in the 
field of Abel-meholah. However this may be, Elisha rec- 
ognized the Divine call, and obeyed. The oxen were aban- 
doned, the plow was left in the furrow, and he ran after 
the departing prophet. And when he had overtaken him, 
and had asked and received permission to kiss his father 
and mother, Elisha returned, slew a yoke of oxen, boiled 
their flesh with the implements, divided it among the peo- 
ple, and, having bid good-by to father and mother and 
home, went after Elijah and ministered unto him. 

For seven or eight years Elisha must " pour water on the 
hands" of Elijah before the servant can come into the 
room of his master, or the pupil take the place of his 
teacher. The Tishbite had no one, as we have said, to train 
him for the prophetic office ; Elisha was trained for it by 
the greatest of prophets. How the future prophet bore 
himself during his novitiate we are not informed ; for his 
name is no more mentioned until the day his master was 



ELISHA OF ABEL-MEHOLAH. 367 

caught up by the whirlwind and borne aloft in the chariot 
of fire. But we may learn what it must have been from 
his ready obedience to the Divine call, from his entire con- 
secration from the beginning to his future work, and from 
the splendid record of a prophetic life of three-score and 
five years. Like the disciples afterward who, when called 
to the apostleship, followed Jesus, Elisha left all, and fol- 
lowed Elijah. It is quite probable that of the twelve 
yoke of oxen plowing before him at the time Elijah 
met him, all, except the twelfth with their implements, 
were his father's. What was his own he sacrificed, mak- 
ing a feast of the flesh of the oxen, and with the wood of 
his plow and the yokes of his oxen kindling the fire which 
boiled it. 

Very great and marked was the contrast between the 
master and his disciple, notwithstanding a like devotion to 
their Sovereign Lord and King and their strong attachment 
to each other. Kever Avere men better fitted for the spe- 
cial service to which they were respectively called. Eli- 
jah could not have done the work of Elisha; Elisha would 
have fiiiled where Elijah succeeded. The one was suited 
to the work represented by the whirlwind, the earthquake, 
and the fire; the other to that symbolized by the still small 
voice. Administering law and its terrible punishments was 
the peculiar province of the one; dispensing mercy and its 
gracious offers of pardon the genial employment of the other. 
Elisha was the complement of Elijah; Elijah was equally 
the complement of Elisha, Like the law and the gospel, 
both were parts of the same Divine administration, in which 
each had his appropriate place. 

It is impossible to indicate more plainly Jehovah's changed 
methods of dealing with Baalism and idolatrous Israel than 
by the great contrast between his servants Elijah the Tish- 
bite and Elisha of Abel-meholah. In their call to and in' 



368 ELIJAH VINDICATED, 

troduction into the prophetic office, in their manner of life, 
in their traits of character, and in their respective works, 
no two loyal, faithful, and approved prophets of the same 
God could be distinguished by greater contrariety. The 
Tishbite always comes upon us like an apparition, inspir- 
ing the profoundest awe and smiting with terror by his 
daring and by his terrible judgments; the son of Shaphat 
is introduced to us following his plow in the field, attended 
by servants for whose wants he provides, and full of ten- 
derest solicitude for the mother who bore him and the father 
who guided his steps from infancy to manhood. We know 
Elisha's father, his tribe, his birthplace. Shaphat, a name 
well known in the genealogical tables of the Hebrews, was 
his father, Manasseh was his tribe, and Abel-meholah, in 
the northernmost portion of the territory allotted to the 
tribes east of the Jordan, w'as his birthplace. But we 
know neither Elijah's father, nor his tribe, nor his birth- 
place ; nor do we know how he received his designation, or 
what it means. Elijah threw his mantle upon Elisha, and 
called him to the succession of prophets ; but we know not 
what prophet threw his mantle on Elijah — whether any 
earth-born man did it, or whether it was done by God's 
own hands. Impenetrable mystery veils the Tishbite's life 
before and after his appearing to Ahab. Elisha's before 
his prophetic call may be inferred ; all of it afterw^ard is 
plainly told. Elijah was a child of the wilderness ; away 
from the haunts of men— except in the widow's cottage by 
the sea, and then he w^as more secluded than anchorite in 
the rocks of Engedi— amid the lairs of wild beasts, in the 
caves of Cherith and Carmel, in the clifts of Horeb, or 
beneath the white-blossomed broom-tree of the desert, he 
abode or found shelter for a night. If the Tishbite en- 
tered the cities of men, suddenly he came, and, pronounc- 
ing his terrible judgments, as suddenly disappeared. Though 



ELISHA OF ABEL-MEHOLAII. 369 

he could be gentle and sympathizing as in the afflicted cot- 
tage at Zarephath, and kind and considerate as he was to 
the good Obadiah and the humble and repentant Ahab, he 
was rough and austere in his manners. And with these 
fittingly corresponded his personal appearance. He was 
known by his weird look, his shaggy hair, and rough sheep- 
skin mantle. Elisha was a dweller in cities and an attend- 
ant at court ; he was the friend and father of the lowly and 
the poor ; and though honored and consulted by generals 
and kings, he was easy of access to all. In dress he dif- 
fered in nothing from the great mass of his countrymen. 
His garb was their ordinary habit; his hair was neatly 
trimmed ; a staff in his hand, when he walked in city or 
country, supported his steps. 

No less striking was the contrast in the messages which 
these two great prophets of God were commanded to de- 
liver. Elijah was the messenger of wrath, of drought, 
famine, pestilence, fire, sword, and blood; Elisha was the 
messenger of mercy, of healing, soothing, restoration, con- 
ciliation, and peace. Elijah was the Luther, Elisha the 
Melanchthon, of his times. Preachers like Bossuet and 
South in sternness and intrepidity were echoes of the one ; 
preachers like Fenelon and Leighton in amiableness and 
gentleness were echoes of the other. Elijah's coming pre- 
saged some new and appalling miracle or terrible punitive 
calamity to the enemies of Jehovah. Even the message of 
the return of dew and rain to Samaria was preceded by the 
descent of fire from the Lord God out of heaven on Car- 
rael and by the slaughter of the priests of Baal at the 
Kishon. Elisha was hailed as the benefactor and, in their 
sorest needs, as the deliverer of his king and people. Even 
the soldiers of the Syrian invader sent to arrest him at 
Dothan, and smitten with blindness by his prayer, Avere re- 
stored to sight through the intercession of the gentle prophet. 
24 



370 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

Elisha's Riiracles were more numerous than Elijah's; and 
yet all were characterized by benehceuce, except perhaps 
the leprosy of Gehazi and the destruction of the forty-two 
mockers in the w^ood near Bethel. The leprosy of Gehazi 
was no more than his lying and theft most richly deserved ; 
nor is the other an exception when correctly understood. 
The word translated children is applied in the Hebrew 
Scriptures to persons from childhood to even forty years of 
age. It was applied to Isaac at twenty-eight, to Joseph at 
thirty-nine, to Solomon after he became king, to Gehazi 
the servant of Elisha, to the two hundred and thirty-two 
young men of the princes of the provinces who went up to 
battle with Ahab against Ben-hadad, to the servants of the 
Assyrian king who blasphemed the Lord of hosts in the 
days of Isaiah, and to many others in the prime of man- 
hood. But it may be answered that the word little appears 
before children, and that therefore the mockers of the 
prophet were of tender age. No doubt in the idolatrous 
rabble from Bethel, the seat of one of Jeroboam's golden 
calves, there w^ere little ones, and no doubt they joined 
with others much older than themselves in the derisive 
cry, "Go up, thou bald head/'' But not one of the lit- 
tle ones perished. The older ones, who knew better, were 
the only sufferers. For the Word little is not applied to 
the forty-two that were slain. Besides, the word there trans- 
lated children is changed for another that also designates 
persons as old as forty. Hence, the omission of the dimin- 
utive and the change of terms indicate that they who per- 
ished w^ere fully responsible. In deriding the prophet they 
derided the prophet's God. Indeed, they w^ere most insult- 
ingly blasphemous; they made a mock of the ascension of 
Elijah, the stupendous miracle Elisha and the sons of the 
prophets at Jericho had just witnessed on the other side of 
Jordan, and of which it is evident these idolatrous repro- 



ELISHA OF ABEL-MEHOLAH, 371 

bates of Bethel liad been informed. Not crediting Elijah's 
ascension, they designedly went out to meet the prophet 
and insult him. Hence the derisive cry of these hardened 
idolaters, "(ro up, thou bald head/'' — alluding, by the epi- 
thet, to the short and trimmed hair of Elisha in contrast 
with the well-known long and shaggy locks of the Tishbite. 
"Go up, thou bald head, to heaven, as your master is re- 
ported to have ascended! Let us see you go up, and we 
will believe you:" this is the meaning of their mocking 
taunt. It was an insult more directed against Elisha's God 
than against Elisha himself The mocking to which Elisha 
W'as subjected was of a piece with the derision which the in- 
nocent Lamb of God endured on the cross : " He saved oth- 
ers, himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, 
let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe 
him." With like derision the mockers assailed Elisha. 
" Go up, thou bald head, and we will believe thee," expressed 
their taunting unbelief in the reported ascension of the 
hairy Tishbite. And for this the Lord God of Israel sent 
the she-bears out of the wood, which devoured the leaders 
of the rabble throng from Bethel. 

Hence, the slaying of the forty-two mockers was not 
Elisha's act. He did not send the she-bears. Israel's God 
alone sent them, if they were sent. But Elisha cursed 
them! If he did, he cursed them in the name and by the 
authority of the Lord God whom they impiously blasphemed. 
Elisha pronounced no sentence upon them ; he turned them 
over to the Lord God of Israel. Wherefore, if Jehovah 
sent the destroying beasts, and turned them loose upon the 
mocking idolaters, it was his deed, not Elisha's. And if 
his, who art thou that repliest against God? Who will 
question the justice of his administration? We know that 
the Judge of all the earth doeth right. Nothing can be 
brought against the justice of him who so loved even his 



372 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

enemies that for their sake he spared not his only-begotten 
Son. Nothing surely can be said against him who was so 
long-suffering to the Ahabs and Jezebels — the curses of 
Israel — who so recently refused his prophet Elijah when he 
made intercession to him against his rebellious children, 
and who, in mercy to them, removed the prophet of venge- 
ance, and sent in his room the prophet of peace. 

Wherefore, the two instances excepted — if they are ex- 
ceptions — Elisha's miracles were miracles of beneficence. 
Such were the healing of the waters of Jericho, the supply 
of water to the famishing army of Jehoshaphat in the des- 
ert, neutralizing the poison in the pottage of the sons of 
the prophets, healing Naaman the Syrian general, and caus- 
ing the iron head of the borrowed ax to swim after it sunk 
beneath the waves; so multiplying the twenty loaves of bar- 
ley, and the full ears of corn in the husk, as to feed one 
hundred men, and leave thereof after all had eaten and 
were satisfied ; raising the dead son of the woman of Shu- 
nem, and multiplying the oil in the pot of the poor widow, 
saving her from debt and her two sons from being sold into 
slavery. 

Three of Elisha's miracles, it will be noticed, are repeti- 
tions of Elijah's — smiting the Jordan with the mantle and 
passing over dry shod, increasing the pot of oil, and restor- 
ing to life the dead son of the Shunammite. These miracles 
were exactly similar in kind to Elijah's ; and yet the indi- 
viduality of the prophets is preserved. The contrast, though 
not so marked as in the other miracles, may still be traced. 
With Elijah it is but a blow, and the waters are divided; 
Elisha smites, but accompanies the smiting with a prayer 
to the Lord God of Elijah. Elijah multiplies the meal 
and oil by w^hich his own life was to be sustained ; Elisha 
multiplies the oil to pay the debt of a poor widow and res- 
cue her two sous from bondage. Elijah passionately re- 



ELISHA OF ABEL'MEIIOLAH. 873 

monstrates with God for taking the life of the widow's son ; 
Elisha, though the Shunammite's son had been given to her 
at his request, brings no complaint against his God because 
he had taken his life away. 

Do not the chief contrasts between Elijah and Elisha 
sufficiently show God's changed methods of dealing with 
the Baalim in Israel? We shall see this further unfolded 
before we come to the Tishbite's departure from earth. Is 
it not already clearly seen that Elijah symbolized the law 
and its punishments, and Elisha the gospel and its provis- 
ions of mercy? that the one typified the Baptist and his 
awful denunciations, and the other Christ and his precious 
invitations to them that labor and are heavy-laden? In- 
deed, the miracles of the son of Shaphat are reproduced in 
the miracles of the Son of Mary. Cleansing the leprous, 
restoring sight to the blind, multiplying the loaves, and 
raising the dead to life again, are readily suggested. But 
more even in his spirit than in his works Elisha resembled 
Jesus of Nazareth. There was like gentleness, kindness, 
sympathy. Elisha weeping over the woes which he knew 
Hazael would bring upon Israel reminds us of the Son 
God weeping over Jerusalem. 

Such w^as the man whom the Lord, when he spake by 
the still small voice on Horeb, ordered Elijah to anoint 
prophet in his room. Elisha was the green, smoothed, 
and gently undulating lawn, exciting our admiration by 
its quiet beauty; Elijah was the rugged mountain of cav- 
ernous depths and dizzy heights, inspiring awe by its sub- 
limity. Elisha was the placid lake, nestling amid the 
hills of Galilee; Elijah was the great sea, swept and lashed 
by warring tempests. Elisha was the gentle dew on Her- 
mon; Elijah, the swollen torrent rushing down from Car- 
mel. Elisha was the whispering of the evening zephyr; 
Elijah, the deafening blast of the tornado. Elisha was 



874 ELlTAIi VINDICATED. 

the reviving and gently falling shower; Elijah, the rain- 
storm, attended by fierce winds and the lightning's loud 
thunders. Elisha was the dove bringing the olive-leaf in 
lier mouth; Elijah was the soaring eagle swooping down 
upon the fold, and bearing his prey to his mountain-aerie. 
Elisha inspired love; Elijah, awe. Elisha was a kind 
friend; Elijah, an austere judge. To Elisha we would 
fearlessly, but to Elijah tremblingly, tell our secret faults, 
our heart-struggles, our weaknesses, and our failures. To 
Elisha we would go in sorrow and in temptation, confident 
of receiving sympathy and comfort; to Elijah, when we 
have wrongs to be avenged or powerful foes to combat, we 
might appeal, knowing if he put forth his strong arm in 
our defense, our wrongs would be righted, and that under 
his protection we would be as safe as was Teucer from Tro- 
jan darts behind the seven-fold shield of Telamonian Ajax. 
Nor did the contrast between the two prophets end with 
their lives; in death it was far more conspicuous. Fiery 
steeds bore Elijah aloft in a chariot of fire; Elisha, full of 
years, died quietly in his bed, looking out through the opened 
window upon the risen sun, and was buried by loving hands. 
His latest moments were attended by his sinful but grateful 
and weeping king, who honored his departure from earth 
with the same words Elisha cried after the ascending Eli- 
jah : '' my father, my father! the chariot of Israel, and the 
horsemen thereof!^' Though invisible to others, were the 
king's eyes opened to see around the bed of the dying proph- 
et the same fiery steeds and the same fiery chariot which 
translated Elijah from earth to heaven ? His last act on 
earth was an act of mercy to his troubled king. The ar- 
row which the king shot by the prophet's direction was the 
arrow of the Lord's deliverance from the Syrian king. 
Even in his grave God signally honored Elisha. When 
the dead body of a man was cast into his sepulcher, no 



ELISHA OF ABEL'MEHOLAH. 375 

sooner did the dead man's body touch the bones of the 
prophet than the dead man revived, and stood upon his 
feet. The prophet Elijah, in the words of Ecclesiasticus, 
stood up " as fire, and his word burned like a lamp ; " Eli- 
sha, according to the same authority, though gentle and 
filled with the Spirit, "whilst he lived was not moved with 
the presence of any prince; neither could any bring him 
into subjection. Nothing could overcome him; and after 
his death his body prophesied. He did wonders in his life, 
and at his death wei'e his works marvelous." 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

FEOM HOEEB TO TABOR. 

ELIJAH has thrown his mantle upon Elisha; Elisha 
has left all, and followed Elijah. From Abel-rae- 
holah they journey northward by the way to Damascus. 
Whither they went, where they lived, how for several years 
they spent their time no one can tell. About seven years 
upon earth remain to Elijah. Seldom, during the interval, 
does he appear, and then he comes and goes with the same 
startling rapidity attending his movements from the first. 
Meanwhile great public events are being transacted in Sa- 
maria, but in none of them has the Tishbite a part. From 
affairs in Israel, however, the Lord God does not withdraw 
himself. But his representative is not Elijah, but some un- 
known prophet and another named Micaiah. These events 
must be briefly noticed, because, before they are over, they 
will afford momentary glimpses of the great prophet, and 
show the end of Ahab. 

Not long after Elijah left Horeb the noise of war was 
heard in Samaria. Ben-hadad, the Syrian king, with thirty- 
two kings, and with horses and chariots, having laid siege 
to Samaria, sent a message to Ahab demanding the silver 
and gold of himself and people, and the goodliest of their 
wives and children. When the King of Israel returned a 
most obsequious answer to his commands, the Syrian mon- 
arch was not satisfied. He threatened to send servants to 
search his houses and the houses of his subjects, and to take 
whatever was pleasant in Ahab's eyes. After consultation 
with his elders, the King of Israel, acting on their advice, 
(376) 



FROM HOREB TO TABOR, 377 

refused this demand of the Syrian monarch. Another 
boastful threat was sent by Ben-hadad, to which Ahab, with 
a lofty bearing challenging our admiration, replied: "Let 
not him that girdeth on his harness boast himself as he that 
putteth it off.'' The issue is joined, and a war for conquest 
and spoil on the one hand, and for defense and honor on 
the other, rages in Samaria. 

Meanwhile the Lord God of Israel is no silent spectator 
of the opening contest. True to his changed purpose to 
deal gently with Ahab, he dispatches not the fiery Tishbite, 
but a prophet whose name is not given, to assure him that 
the vast multitude of the haughty Syrian should be deliv- 
ered into his hands by the young men of the princes of the 
provinces and the numbered seven thousand of Israel. 
And to this was added the word of the Lord addressed to 
Ahab, ''And thou shalt knoiu that I am the Lord.'' The 
king, encouraged, marched against the Syrian army, and 
Avent himself to order the battle. And while Ben-hadad 
and the thirty-two kings were drinking themselves drunk in 
their pavilions, Ahab and his little army swooped down upon 
them, and slew them with a great slaughter. The discom- 
fited Syrian king escaped on horseback with his horsemen. 

Again the Lord God shows kindness to Ahab. He sends 
his prophet to the victorious king with the warning, " Go, 
strengthen thyself, and mark and see what thou doest; for ai 
the return of the year the King of Syria will come up against 
thee." "With the return of the year, according to the warn- 
ing, the Syrian again came against Israel. Believing that 
the former battle was lost because it was fought among 
the hills where the gods of Israel were the stronger, the 
Syrians set themselves in battle array in the plain, assured 
that there their gods would prevail. In the plain before 
Aphek, in the east valley of the Jordan, Ben-hadad mar- 
shaled his array, more numerous, like the first, than there 



378 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

were handfuls of the dust of Samaria ; and over against them 
pitched the Israelites like two little flocks of kids. Again the 
Lord God sent his prophet to Ahab ; again he promised to 
deliver the Syrian multitudes into his hands; and again he 
told him, " Ye shall hnoiv that I am the Lord'^ On the sev- 
enth day after the two armies were pitched against each 
other in the plain before Aphek the battle was joined, the 
Syrians were routed, and a hundred thousand of their foot- 
men were slain in one day. 

Ben^hadad fled to Aphek, and shut up himself in an in- 
ner chamber of that fortress on the road to Syria. By per- 
mission of the humbled Syrian king, his servants girded 
sackcloth on their loins, put ropes on their heads, and went 
as suppliants to the King of Israel, saying: ^^ Thy servant 
Ben-hadad saith, I pray thee, let me live.'' "Is he yet alive f 
he is my brother,'^ was Ahab's answer. The servants of 
Ben-hadad, who had told their master, " We have heard that 
the Icings of the house of Israel are merciful kings,'' taking 
courage when they heard Ahab call their royal master 
brother, answered, "Thy brother Ben-hadad." Then said 
Ahab, " Go ye, bring him." Ben-hadad came, and Ahab 
caused him to come up into his chariot. The Syrian prom- 
ised to restore the cities his father had taken from Ahab's . 
father, and that Ahab should make streets for himself in 
Damascus as the father of Ben-hadad made for himself in 
Samaria. So the King of Israel made a covenant with the 
King of Syria, and sent him away. 

Thus the Lord God was faithfully carrying out his mer- 
ciful purpose, indicated by the still small voice on Horeb, 
to deal gently with Ahab. Three times he sent his prophet 
to him; two great victories he gave him; and into his 
hands he delivered the powerful hereditary foe to Israel. 
And the Lord God told him tliat by these deliverances he 
should know that he was the Lord, adding the caution, 



. FROM HOEEB TO TABOJR, 379 

*'Mark, and see what thou chest." But there was no recog- 
nition of Israel's God by the victorious king; there was no 
acknowledgment of his interposition. If any thanksgivings 
were offered up for his triumphs over the Syrian king, they 
were presented to Baal and Ashtoreth, and not to the 
Lord God of Israel. Ahab gave no heed to the warning, 
**3fark, and see tvhat thou doest." Not consulting the Lord 
of hosts about the disposition to be made of the captive 
Ben-hadad, he ratified an ignominious covenant with him, 
and sent away the man whom he knew the Lord had ap- 
pointed to utter destruction. Such was Ahab's ungrateful 
and ignoble return for God's gracious purpose to deal gen- 
tly and mercifully with him and his people. "Wherefore, 
God again sends his prophet to Ahab. And the prophet 
said unto him: "Tims saiih the Lord, Because thou hast let 
go out of thy hand a man lohom I appointed to utter destruc' 
Hon, therefore thy life shall go for his life, and thy j^eople for 
his people." 

The King of Israel, returning " heavy and displeased,'* 
came to Samaria, the capital of his kingdom. Thence— how 
long afterward we know not — he went to Jezreel, still heavy 
and displeased because of the prophet's message, but flushed 
and lifted up by his splendid victories over the hosts of Syria. 
In Jezreel, hard by the king's palace, was the vineyard of 
Kaboth. "With desires enlarged by his recent triumphs, 
the victorious monarch longed to add it to his own royal 
grounds, and sought to secure it by purchase or exchange. 
Wlien Naboth refused to part with the inheritance of his 
fathers, which he was forbidden by the law of Moses to 
alienate, the hr.ughty king, greatly chagrined, laid down on 
his bed, turned away his face, and would eat no bread. 
But into further details we need not go, for we have already 
told thorn in the clinptor devoted to Jezebel. But we then 
promised to refer to Ahab's connection with the infamous 



380 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

transaction. We saw by what lying arts and murderous 
means the abominable Jezebel caused the coveted vineyard 
to revert to the crown. When Naboth was convicted on a 
Jalse charge by perjured witnesses, and was stoned to death, 
the king, as soon as he heard from Jezebel that he was 
dead, arose and went down to the vineyard to take posses- 
sion of it. 

The wicked Ahab, instead of repudiating the infamous 
deed of his infamous wife, was too glad to profit by it, and 
add the vineyard to the grounds of his royal palace. While 
the whole execrable affair was being transacted the sleep- 
less eye of Israel's God, from its first inception, was mark- 
ing it all. He has work to do, not for the unknown prophet 
who promised to deliver the multitudes of Ben-hadad into 
Ahab's hands, and afterward denounced him for his cove- 
nant with the Syrian king, but for the prophet of drought 
and fire and sword. The fiery and bold Tishbite is the 
man for the work the God of Israel has now in hand. But 
where is Elijah? Where has he been? From some cave in 
Carmel, from his old hiding-place by Cherith, or from 
wherever was his place of concealment, the Lord God calls 
Elijah. ''And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tish- 
bite, saying, Arise, go down to meet Ahab, king of Israel, 
which is in Samaria; behold he is in the vineyard of Naboth, 
whither he is gone down to possess it. And thou shalt speak 
unto him, saying, Thus saith the Lord, In the place where 
dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, even 
thine J' 

No matter whence he came, marvelously sudden was the 
action of the Tishbite. If he was at a distance, miracu- 
lously was he transported to Jezreel. For God delivered 
his message to the prophet while Ahab was in the vineyard 
of Naboth. ''Behold,'' said God to Elijah, "he is in the 
vineyard of Naboth, whither he is gone doivn to possess it" 



FROM HOREB TO TABOR, 381 

Before the king has left the vineyard the Tishbite confronts 
him. The startled Ahab is the first to speak. His guilty 
conscience in a moment tells him why Elijah has come. 
"jBTasi thou found me, mine enemy f' asks the astounded 
king. ''I have found thee" is the Tishbite's defiant answer. 
''Because thou hast sold thyself to work evil in the sight of the 
Lord, behold, I will bring evil upon thee, and will take away 
thy posterity, and will make thine house like the house of Jer- 
oboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son 
of Ahijah, for the provocation wherewith thou hast provoked 
me to anger, and made Israel to sin." 

Pause a moment. Mark the sudden appearance of the 
Tishbite ! He comes upon Ahab as if he had dropped in- 
visibly down from the heavens above. Note how he delivers 
his Lord's message! He does not say, "Thus saith the 
Lord." But he says, I will bring evil upon thee, etc., 
for the provocation wherewith thou hast provoked me to 
anger, etc. It reminds us of the time when he first stood 
before Ahab and said, As the Lord God of Israel liveth, 
before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these 
years, but according to my word. No wonder these startling 
apparitions of the Tishbite — suddenly appearing and as sud- 
denly gone — and these untoward messages, spoken as if in 
his own name and by his own authority, led the later He- 
brews, as has been before said, to believe that he was some 
manifestation of the great God, or some celestial messenger 
in human form. But Elijah, we repeat, was no more than 
man; he was of like passions with ourselves. But he was 
bold above all others. He fears not the king's wrath. He 
is in Jezreel. He stands in the presence of the monarch 
in Naboth's vineyard, hard by the royal palace. And 
where is Jezebel? Perhaps she is looking on from a win- 
dow in the king's house, and is afraid because conscious of 
her own damning guilt. Where are her late threats to 



382 ELIJAH VINDICATED, 

take the Tishbite's life? Does he fear the Phenieiau woman 
and her minions? Right there in Naboth's vineyard, and 
perhaps within hearing of the palace, he denounces not 
only the king, but pronounces the terrible curse upon the 
queen: "TAe dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel." 
And this is the coward who fled from Jezreel through fear 
of a woman! When he " went for his life," or " whither he 
would," at the time he left it before, he went because the 
Lord God would not permit him to enter it ; he is now in 
Jezreel, fearless and defiant, because the Lord of hosts has 
sent him there. One w^ord from his Sovereign Lord and 
King, and in one moment it would be with Ahab and Jeze- 
bel as it was with the priests of Baal at the brook Kishon! 
Elijah has delivered Jehovah's curses upon Ahab and Jez- 
ebel, and is gone. Behold the king humbled and abased ! 
The words of the Lord are sharper than any two-edged 
sword, and smite him to the heart. The pains of hell have 
got hold upon him. Rent are his royal robes by his own 
princely hands. Sackcloth he puts upon his dainty flesh. His 
guilty soul does penance by fasting. In sackcloth he lays 
down ; and when he walks, he goes softly before the Lord. 
But the compassionate heart of the great God is touched. 
And straight the word of the Lord went to the Tishbite, 
saying, '^Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before me? 
Because he humbleth himself before me, I will not bring the 
evil in his days; but in his son's days will I bring the evil 
upon his house." 

Let us pause long enough to mark three things: first, 
God's sending Elijah, though it was the dispensation of the 
still small voice, to pronounce his awful judgments upon 
Ahab and Jezebel for their guilt in the affair of Naboth's 
vineyard ; second, God's infinite compassion to the humbled 
and repentant king; third, his tender solicitude for his 
prophet when he informed him of Ahab's repentance and 



FROM HOREB TO TABOR. 383 

of his own changed purpose toward Israel's king. It seems 
to us that, of all the signal and preeminent honors conferred 
by the Lord God upon the Tishbite, the greatest was send- 
ing him the message concerning Ahab's repentance. Not 
so great was withholding and returning the dew and rain 
at his word; not so great the answer by fire on Carmel; 
not so great the aerial flight in the chariot of fire; and not 
so great the W'itness of the transfiguration on " the mountain 
apart." 

But we must hurry to the end of Ahab's life. After the 
defeat of the Syrians at Aphek, and Ahab had three years' 
rest from war, he drew the King of Judah into a scheme to 
recover Ramoth in Gilead from the Syrians. A defensive 
and ofifensive alliance formed, Jehoshaphat asked Ahab " to 
inquire at the word of the Lord." The King of Israel, whom 
we have just seen so humbled and repentant, forgetful of the 
great victories the Lord God had given him in the late war, 
unmindful of the woes denounced against himself for his 
guilty share in murdering and plundering the innocent Na- 
both, and regardless of his own repentance and the divine 
clemency shown him on that account, gathered together the 
four hundred prophets of Ashera, and impiously inquired 
of them whether he should go against Ramoth-gilead to 
battle, or whether he should forbear. And thus they said, 
" Go up, for the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the 
king." The pious Jehoshaphat asked: "Ls there not here a 
prophet of the Lord besides, that we might inquire of himf" 
"And the Icing of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet 
one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom tve may inquire 
of the Lord; but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good 
concerning me, but evil." Micaiah, when called, told Ahab 
to go up; but, at the same time, he candidly informed the 
king that the Lord had put a lying spirit into the mouths 
of the prophets, and had spoken evil, not good, concerning 



384 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

him. Believing the prophets of Jezebel, Ahab, angered 
against Micaiah, ordered him to be put in prison, and to 
be fed with the bread of affliction, and with the water of 
affliction, until he himself should return in peace from Ka- 
moth-gilead. '^Ifthou return at all in peace" answered the 
prophet, " the Lord hath not spoken by me." And Micaiah 
added: "Hearken, people, every one of you.'^ 

What followed may be soon told. The two kings went 
up to Ramoth-gilead to battle. It was Ahab's last battle- 
field. In it he received his death-wound. The history tells 
how he went into the battle disguised ; how he prevailed on 
Jehoshaphat to array himself in the royal robes of Israel; 
how a certain man drew a bow at a venture and smote the 
King of Israel between the joints of the harness; how Ahab 
died at even in his chariot, and how the king's blood ran 
out of his wound into its midst. The dead king was carried 
to Samaria; in that capital of his kingdom they buried 
him. And when the chariot, in which he was wounded and 
in which he died, was washed in the pool of Samaria, the 
dogs licked up his blood. And thus the word of the Lord, 
which he spoke by Elijah the Tishbite, was partly fulfilled. 
It was afterward fulfilled to the letter, when dogs licked the 
blood of Jo ram the son of Ahab " m the portion of the field 
of Naboth the Jezreelite." Thus perished the wickedest king 
who, up to his day, sat on the throne of Israel. No further 
delineation of his character will we attempt. It has been 
sufficiently presented in the progress of the drama of Elijah 
the Tishbite. The life and acts of this wicked and idola- 
trous King of Israel are so interwoven with nearly the 
whole story of Elijah that no separate chapter need be de- 
voted exclusively to him. In the hands of the great God 
we leave him, and hasten to the last interference of Elijah 
in the public affairs of the kingdom of Israel. 

When Ahab slept with his fathers, his son Ahaziah sue- 



FROM llOREB TO TABOR. 385 

ceeded to his throne. This bad king did evil in the sight 
of the Lord, walked in the way of his father and in the 
way of his mother, served Baal and worshiped him, and 
provoked to auger the Lord God of Israel according to all 
that his father had done. Brief was his reign; in two years 
it terminated. He ^^feU down through a lattice in his upper 
cliamber that tms in Samaria, and was sick." The alarmed 
king sent messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub the god of 
Ekron whether he should recover. While the messengers 
were on the way the angel of the Lord went to Elijah the 
Tishbite, and sent him to meet them, and to inform them 
that the king would surely die. The Tishbite met them, 
delivered the message, and departed. The king's servants 
returned, and told their master how a man had met them 
in the w^ay, and what message he required them to deliver. 
When Ahaziah asked," JVhat manner of man ivas hef" and 
was told, " He was a hairy man, and Qtrt with a girdle of 
leather about his loins" he said, ''It is Elijah the Tishbite! " 
Then the king, incensed, sent a captain of fifty with his fifty 
to arrest the prophet. They found Elijah " on the top of 
a hill" and said, ''Thou man of God, the king hath said, 
Come down." And Elijah answered : "If I he a man of 
God, then let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee 
and thyfftij." Instantly, as the fire fell upon the sacrifice 
upon Carmel, it fell on the captain and his fifty, and con- 
sumed them. The obdurate king sent another captain and 
his fifty, and with the same result. But when the captain 
of the third fifty with liis fifty was ordered to go upon tlie 
same errand, the third captain, as soon as he saw Elijah, 
fell on his knees before him, and besought him, saying: "0 
man of God, I pray thee, letmy life, and the life of these fifty 
thy servants, he precious in tJiy sight." He and his fifty were 
spared. The angel of the Lord directing the prophet to go 
down with the man, and not to be afraid of him, Elijah ac- 
25 



386 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

companied him to the king. The Tishbite goes into the up- 
per chamber, and stands by the sick-bed of the monarch. 
With the same fearlessness which had ever characterized 
the prophet he charges the king to his face with his sin, and 
tells him he must surely die. And so King Ahaziah died 
according to the word of the Lord which Elijah had spoken. 

This was the Tishbite's last interference in the affairs of 
Israel. To the last he was the " prophet as of fire." Twice 
only, after the scenes on Horeb, had he any part to play in 
the acts of Israel's kings, and on both occasions he was the 
prophet of wrath. The God that answ^ers by fire w'as Eli- 
jah's God; faithful and loyal was he to carry out his judg- 
ments. A fitting end to the fiery prophet was the approach- 
ing ascension to heaven in the chariot of fire borne by horses 
of fire. 

We now draw near to next to the last scene of the last 
act in the drama of Elijah the Tishbite. We say next to 
the last, because the last was the w^itness of the transfigura- 
tion. But before we come to the prophet's translation, 
mention must be made of his interference in the affairs of 
the kingdom of Judah. In it we will see the same jealousy 
for the Lord of hosts which distinguished all his dealings 
with his own kingdom of Israel. We have reference to the 
Tishbite's memorable letter to Jehoram, King of Judah and 
son of Jehoshaphat. Into the controversy respecting the 
time the letter was written we will not enter further than 
to say that its inscription to Jehoram is consistent with 
the fact recorded in 2 Kings ii. 17, that Ahaziah died in 
the second year of Jehoram, King of Judah. If this be so, 
Elijah was upon the earth while that king was upon the 
throne of his father Jehoshaphat. But is it not said that Je- 
horam, King of Israel — Ahaziah's brother — began to reign 
in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat? How, then, could 
Elijah's letter have been written to Jehoram, King of Judah ? 



FROM HOBEB TO TABOB. 387 

Who will decide between these seemingly conflicting state- 
ments? If they are conflicting, we ask, which is the true 
and which is the false? To us it is evident that the truth 
lies not in eliminnting either — for who has the authority to 
make the elimination? — but in recognizing both as true, 
and reconciling them, as Dr. Lightfoot has satisfactorily 
done. We have but to suppose that Jehoshaphat, because 
of the distant wars he was waging, associated with himself 
his son Jehoram in the kingdom. Hence this Jehoram was 
king over Judah — joint kiug with Jehoshaphat his father — 
several years before the latter's death. And hence to Je- 
horam, King of Judah, Elijah's letter v/as written. But 
whenever it was written, and no matter on what occa- 
sion it was written, it was in perfect keeping with Elijah 
the Tishbite. The letter fearlessly denounces the King of 
Judah for his sius, and j)redicts the terrible judgment of 
God which was to take hira off! It befell the king accord- 
ing to Elijah's letter ; the Lord God brought upon Jehoram 
all the evils which the prophet foretold — even the dreadful 
disease the Tishbite predicted came upon the wicked king in 
all its horrible and loathsome minuteness. And King Je- 
horam died unlamented and hated by his people, so that they 
" made no burning for him, like the burning of his fathers." 
But the time has come when Elijah must be taken up. 
From Gilgal two men, in deepest thought, are walking side 
by side along the road to Bethel. By their garb and by 
their whole demeanor we know the men. One of them is 
very familiar to us, for we have been long in his company; 
the other, though not so familiar, is yet so well known that 
we cannot mistake his identity. With the one we have 
been in many scenes. We saw his first appearance to Ahab, 
and heard him foretell the calamitous drought. We beheld 
him in his solitariness by the Cherith, when he was fed by 
the ravens, and drank of the brook. We were present 



388 ELIJAH VINDICATED, 

when at the gate of Zarephath he met the widow woman 
"gathering of sticks;" and Ave listened to his request, and 
the woman's reply, when he asked her for a little cake. 
We looked in upon him in the upper chamber of the cot- 
tage by the sea ; Ave Avatched that barrel of meal and that 
cruse of oil as they were daily emptied and as miraculously 
daily replenished. We were eye-Avitnesses of his anguish 
Avhen the AvidoAv's little son was stricken down by death ; Ave 
heai'd his earnest remonstrance Avith the God of heaven for 
taking the child's life, and his passionate appeals for its res- 
toration. We saAV the j^roud triumph and the deep joy in 
his eye Avhen he ga back to the grief-stricken mother her 
boy raised to life agi^n. We folloAved him on his road to 
Jezreel w^hen commanded to appear the second time before 
Ahab ; we heard his sighs Avhen he beheld the desolations 
brought by the drought upon smitten Samaria, and his 
groans at the remembrance that the sins and idolatries of 
the court and people had caused them all. We Avere with 
him Avhen he fell in by theway Avith the good Obadiah, and 
heard all that passed between them. We Avere present Avhen 
he met the second time with Ahab, and heard the charge 
and counter-charge they brought against each other. We 
listened Avhen he commanded the king to gather to him all 
his kingdom unto Mount Carmel, and wondered if Ahab 
would do as he Avas bidden. On the day appointed Ave 
clambered up the side of Carmel, surveyed its enchanting 
views, and called up its many memorable associations. We 
saw the croAvds flocking to the gathering — the king, the 
court, the four hundred and fifty j)riests of Baal, the AA^hole 
realm, except Jezebel and the four hundred priests of Ash- 
era. We beheld the dauntless prophet of God, attended by 
a single servant, confronting the dazzling and splendid 
array before him. We heard the startling and searching 
question the bold Tishbite put to assembled Israel : "Hoiv 



FROM UOREB TO TABOR, 389 

long halt ye between two opinions f If the Lord be God, fol- 
low him; but if Baal, then follow him." We were aston- 
ished at the silence of the people, for not a word Avas spoken 
in response. We heard the intrepid prophet when he gave 
the bold challenge to the priests of the sun-god to make the 
trial by fire, and saw Avhen he threw down his gauntlet, and 
defiantly dared them to take it up. We marked the sur- 
prise of the priests at a challenge so strange, and heard the 
people when they cried, "It is well spoken," and thereby 
forced the priests to accept it. With bated breath we wit- 
nessed the contest. We saw the altar of Baal's priests; we 
looked on when they cut their bullock in pieces, and placed 
thera in order upon the wood. We heard their fruitless 
cries to the sun-god; we saw how they were infuriated by 
the stinging irony of Jehovah's prophet, how they frantic- 
ally leaped upon their altar, cut themselves with knives and 
lancets, and mingled their blood with the blood of their 
slain victim. AYlicn Elijah's turn came, we watched him 
repairing the old altar; we looked on when he placed upon 
it the pieces of liis bullock, and poured on the water until 
it filled the trench he dug around it. We saw his up- 
turned face and uplifted hands; we heard his short but 
earnest prayer to the Lord God of Israel. AVe saw the fire 
when it fell vertically down from God out of heaven, and 
consumed the sacrifice, the wood, the stones, the dust, and 
licked up the water in the trench. We beheld the people 
when they threw themselves prostrate upon the earth, and 
when they arose simultaneously as one man and rent the 
heavens with the shout: ''The Lord, he is the God! the 
Lord, he is the God!" We witnessed the dismay of the 
crest-fallen priests of Phenician Baal, and the blanched 
cheeks of Israel's idolatrous king; we marked the fiery 
glance in the Tishbite's eye, and his proud look of triumph 
over the enemies of the Lord God of Israel. AVe were 



390 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

startled by his command to take the cringing, crouching 
priests down to the Kishon and slay them there. We 
shuddered when the fickle multitude, awed by the fire 
which fell down from heaven at Elijah's word, obedient to 
his command, seized the vanquished priests, dragged them 
unresisting down old Carmel's side, and with their blood 
dyed "the waters of Megiddo." Keturning from the 
slaughter at the Kishon, we again went up the heights of 
Carrael, listened to the prophet's prayer for rain, and 
watched the little cloud arising out of the Mediterranean. 
With the first sign of the return of rain we observed the 
Tish bite's tender care for the humbled king. We ran 
through wind and rain with Elijah before Ahab's chariot 
to the entrance of Jezreel. Leaving Elijah before the gate, 
we went in with the king to his royal palace. We were 
for the first time in the presence of the infamous Jezebel, 
and listened when the king told to her the day's events on 
Carmel. We witnessed the rage of the queen when the 
king came to the slaughter of the priests, and heard her 
impotent threat to take Elijah's life. Returning from the 
palace to the Tishbite without the gate, we were present 
Avhen the royal pursuivant delivered the bloody message 
of the maddened queen. We deeply sympathized with the 
disappointed prophet when frustrated in his purpose to go 
within Jezreel and put an end to Baalism in Samaria by 
the slaughter of Jezebel and her priests. We watched his 
relucta.nt departure from that summer residence of Israel's 
king, and accompanied him on his journey southward to 
Beersheba. In that extremest southern city of Judah we 
witnessed the parting between him and his servant, and 
guessed its significance. We tarried a night in Beersheba; 
next day we plunged with Elijah into the wilderness, and 
went not knowing whither we were going. At night we 
listened to his plaints under the juniper, and heard his 



FliOM HOEED TO TABOB. 391 

passionate prayer to die as his fathers had died, because 
he had accomplished for the Lord of hosts no more than 
they. We saw him eat of the bread baken on the coals 
by the angel, which was to strengthen him for the long, 
lonely, and unknown journey before him. For forty days 
and nights we watched him wandering in the wilder- 
ness or lodging in the cave on Horeb, and going for so 
long time without eating or drinking. We heard the 
voice of the Lord God calling to him, and saying: ^^What 
doest thou here, Elijah f^' We heard his answer — the 
averment of his exceeding great jealousy for the Lord 
God of hosts, and his intercession against idolatrous and 
murderous Israel. We stood upon the mount, and wit- 
nessed the grand scenic display when the whirlwind rent 
in pieces the solid rocks, when the earthquake sliook the 
deep foundations of old Horeb and Sinai, and when the de- 
vouring fire swept by. We observed the bold Tishbite, and 
saw him unmoved by those appalling symbolisms of Al- 
mighty Power. But we beheld him bow his head and cover 
his face with his mantle when the still small voice passed 
by, awed by the presence and majesty of the awful Shekinah. 
We heard the voice of the Almighty One calling the awe- 
stricken prophet, and again asking: ^'What doest thou here, 
Elijah f" We wondered when we saw that Elijah was in- 
stantly himself again ; that neither the w^hirlwind, nor the 
earthquake, nor the fire, nor the awe-inspiring majesty of 
the dread Shekinah, moved him from his truthful answer. 
We heard him repeat his first answer to the same question 
W(jrd for word and syllable for syllable, and we thought 
that never at any time did the Tishbite appear grander 
and bolder. We thought that never before was conscious 
integrity tried by so severe a test ; that the great God looked 
with infinite complacency upon a servant so true, so loyal, 
so bold, and so jealous for the Divine honor and the Divine 



392 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

glory. We believed that if the Tishbite oever before de- 
served trauslation in the chariot of fire, he deserved it then 
— if it be possible for any mortal man to merit such tran- 
scendent distinction. We eagerly listened, but heard the 
Divine voice speak no word of rebuke or of dissatisfaction ; 
neither God nor angel, nor any inspired man, expressed or 
implied a doubt of the truthfulness, the consistency, and the 
ingenuousness of the prophet's twice-told answer to his God's 
twice-asked question. But y^Q learned from the symbolic 
representations on Horeb — what we before believed — that 
God had changed his methods of dealing with the Baalim 
in Israel; that the whirlwind, the earthquake, and the fire 
represented the past judgments God had inflicted upon the 
idolatrous king and his idolatrous people; that the still 
small voice indicated his future purpose to seek to win them 
over to himself by gentleness and mercy. Yea, we recog- 
nized a much deeper significance in the symbolisms of Ho- 
reb. We saw the law and its terrors in the Avhirlwiud, 
the earthquake, and the fire; and we recognized in the still 
small voice the gos2:>el of the promised Messias, and its gra- 
cious provisions of pardon to the humble and the contrite. 
We heard repromulgated the proclamation which the Lord 
God of Israel made to Moses, standing in the clift of the 
same rock on Horeb where Elijah stood, and comprehended 
much more clearly the revelation of himself as both "the 
Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-sufiering 
and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thou- 
sands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin ; " and as 
the Lord, the Lord God, "that will by no means clear the 
guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children 
and upon the children's children unto the third and to the 
fourth generation." 

These things we learned with Elijah on Horeb, and hence 
were not unprepared for the command to anoint Hazael to 



J^ROM HOREB TO TABOR. 393 

be king over Syria, Jehu to be king over Israel, and Eli- 
sba to be prophet in the room of Elijah. With the Tish- 
bite we went from Horeb, by the way to Damascus, to 
Abel-meholah, where we met for the first time with Elisha, 
and saw when the former threw his mantle on his successor. 
AVe journeyed northward with the two, expecting we were 
going to Damascus to anoint Hazael king over Syria, and 
thence return to anoint Jehu king over Israel. But we 
were mistaken. We learned, not then but afterward, that 
many years must elapse before the anointing of those min- 
istei-s of vengeance; and we thought it strange how such 
avengers could be fitting instruments to carry out God's 
changed method of dealing with Baalism. But it was all 
made plain when we understood that Elisha, the minister of 
mercy, was alone to be anointed for the present, in order 
that God's gracious and merciful purposes toAvard his re- 
bellious and idolatrous people might have free and unob- 
structed scope. And thus we learned that the avenging 
Hazael and Jehu were reserved to inflict God's judgments 
in the event his designs of gentleness and mercy led not 
the rebellious and idolatrous to repentance and to their old 
allegiance. 

Hardly had we left Abel-meholah in company with Eli- 
jah and Elisha before they suddenly disappeared, and es- 
caped our notice and knowledge. Elisha we saw not again 
until we beheld him going with Elijah to Bethel. But 
Elijah suddenly burst in upon us as we stood watching Ahab 
in the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite. We heard the 
terrible doom he pronounced against the king and queen; 
and we saw him, the moment afterward, vanish out of sight. 
We witnessed the humiliation and repentance of the doomed 
king. We were present wlien God informed Elijah of his 
purpose not to bring all the threatened evil upon Ahab in 
his own days. And when last, before our present meeting 



894 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

with him, we saw the Tishbite, we beheld him when he met 
the messengers of Ahaziah on their way to inquire of the 
god of Ekron, when from the top of the hill he called 
dov,'n fire from heaven upon the captains and their fifties, 
and when in the ui^per chamber of the king he told him 
that he must surely die. 

Along the road from Gilgal to Bethel Elijah and Elisha 
are nov/ journeying. Their garb is unchanged. The one 
has the same shaggy hair, leathern girdle about his loins, 
and sheep-skin mantle over his shoulders; the other the 
same neatly trimmed hair, citizen's dress, and staff, which 
respectively distinguished them since, first we made their 
acquaintance. Seven or eight years have passed since ihQ 
elder threw his mantle over the younger in the field of 
Abel-meholah. We would like to know the place of their 
retreat, and how they spent those years. Were they spent 
in the schools of the prophets at Gilgal, at Bethel, and at 
Jericho? Was Elijah, assisted by Elisha, engaged during 
those years in training those pious young students for fut- 
ure prophetic and educational work in Israel? That Eli- 
jah and Elisha sometimes at least visited those schools may 
be inferred from the fact that they were both known to the 
sons of the prophets there. Or did they live, for the most 
part, in solitude, having no other company, unless some 
heavenly messenger visited their lonely abode? And were 
ravens commissioned to feed them? Were the barrel and 
cruse of the widow of Zarephath, or of some other, daily 
emptied and daily replenished to supply their wants? or 
for their morning and evening meal was a cake daily baken 
on the coals by angel hands? What an intimacy must 
have sprung up between those two holy men of God — be- 
tween teacher and pupil, between the prophet and his suc- 
cessor! Elisha for eight years sitting at the feet of Elijah 
in the solitariness of some hidden cave on Carmel, or of 



FROM ROREB TO TABOR. 395 

some umbrageous grotto by Cherith, or of some chamber 
in a secluded house by the sea-shore, or of some sequestered 
nook among the mountains of the Jordan or Gilead, is a 
scene ^Yithout a parallel in any school, sacred or i^rofane. 

But we must not longer tarry to conjecture where they 
lived, or what passed between them, in those long years of 
retirement. We must draw near as they walk along the 
road to Bethel and are silent. Some deep concern is in the 
thoughts of Elijah ; the greatest anxiety is in the look of 
Elisha. Does the Tishbite notice that the stolen glances 
of his companion are to-day more tender and loving than 
ever? And does he know the reason? Does the servant 
know why the master has been so thoughtful and silent? 
Does he guess what emotions are stirring beneath that shag- 
gy breast? Does he know whither his master is going, and 
why he has left his retreat ? 

See, they have come to a halt! The Tishbite is the first 
to break the silence. ''And Elijah said unto Elisha, Tarry 
here, I pray thee; for the Lord hath sent me to Bethel.'^ The 
former has some hidden object in view which he will not 
disclose to the latter; the latter seems to divine it, and 
therefore answers: "As the Lord liveth, and as thy soid liv- 
eth, I ivill not leave thee^ The master makes no reply, 
knov;ingthat such unwonted refusal, confirmed by such an 
oath, and coming from a servant so gentle, so loving, and 
so obedient, must have some secret and weighty reason. 
And so they went down to Bethel. 

At Bethel they meet the sons of the prophets. What 
means their anxious look? Something of unusual moment 
must exercise them ; for they have taken Elisha aside, and 
are telling him something which they do not wish Elijah to 
hear. "Knoivest tJiou,'" they secretly ask, ''that the Lord 
loill take away thy master to-day f^^ What do they mean? 
Who told them v.'hat is implied in their question? And 



396 ELIJAH VINDICATED, 

how does it affect Elisha? Whatever it is, Elisha does not 
hear it for the first time. He knows it all ; and lest Eli- 
jah may hear, he bids them hold their peace. At Bethel 
Elijah requests Elisha to tarry. Receiving the same denial 
and the same oath, Elijah comes to Jericho still accompanied 
by Elisha. There the sons of the prophets put to Elisha 
the same questions and in the same manner which they of 
Bethel had asked, and received from him the same answer. 
The Tishbite, having tried in vain to induce Elisha to tarry 
at Jericho, saying the Lord had sent him to the Jordan, 
and Elisha still cleaving to him and refusing to leave him, 
the two went on until they came to the river. As they 
stood upon its bank, and in full viev/ of the sons of the 
prophets, the Tishbite smote the waters with his mantle, 
which " divided hither and thither, so that they two went over 
on dry ground." "And it came to pass, when they were gone 
over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for 
thee, before I be taken from thee. And Elisha said, 1 2')ray 
thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me. And he 
said. Thou hast asked a hard thing; nevertheless, if thou see 
me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee ; but if 
not, it shall not be so." 

The time has come for the complete vindication of Elijah 
the Tishbite. The Lord God of Tsrael vindicates his proph- 
et by the most signal and triumphant departure froai earth 
ever granted to mortal man. The unparalleled sublimity 
we will not mar by any attempt at description or enlarge- 
ment. We tell it as inspiration has told it, and then leave 
it. "And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, 
that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of 
fire, and parted them both asmider ; and Elijah went up by 
a whirlwind into heaven. And Elisha saw it, and he cried, 
My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen 
thereof! And he saw him no more; and he took hold of his 



FROM HOREB TO TABOR. 397 

own clothes, and rent them in tivo pieces." Taking up the 
mantle of Elijah which fell from him, Elisha returned to 
the Jordan, smote and divided its waters, and came to Jer- 
icho. 

Elisha saw Elijah no more on earth. But we shall see 
him again. Ages have passed. Of their events, their 
changes, their revolutions, we cannot speak. At a single 
bound we land on the summit of "the mountain apart " — 
some say Tabor, but of that we do not know — situated 
somewhere in the Holy Land. A marvelous meeting we 
behold on the mount. Only six are present, but the six 
meet in the most momentous conclave ever held on earth. 
Three are of earth ; two are of heaven ; the sixth is both 
of earth and heaven. The three of earth are the fishermen 
Peter, James, and John, of Galilee; the two of heaven are 
Moses, the great lawgiver, and Elijah, the greatest of proph- 
ets; the sixth, of heaven and earth, is he who Avas in the 
beginning with God; who was before all worlds, and by 
whom all in heaven, on earth, and under the earth were 
created; who was born in Bethlehem of the virgin, wor- 
shiped by the wise men from the East, baptized in Jordan 
by the Baptist, declared to be the Lamb of God which 
taketh away the sin of the world, on whom the Spirit of 
God descended, and of whom the celestial voice, proceed- 
ing from out of the excellent glory, proclaimed, " This is 
my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." By these 
sure tokens we know that the sixth — Jesus of Nazareth — is 
the promised Shiloh, the Saviour of the world, and the in- 
carnate God. Before Moses and Elijah appeared upon the 
scene, Jesus and Peter and James and John had come up 
into the mountain to pray. And while Jesus was praying, 
"lie was transfigured before them; and his face did shine 
as the sun, and his raiment w^as white as the light." Amidst 
this radiant and dazzling scene the celestial visitants de- 



398 ELIJAH VINDICATED. 

scended on the mount, and began to talk with Jesus about 
the decease which lie was to accomplish at Jerusalem. The 
fishermen, who were his apostles, and were to be eye-wit- 
nesses of his resurrection, were overwhelmed by the glory 
streaming through the glistering garments of their trans- 
figured Master. One of them, beside himself, when he be- 
held his Lord glorified, and saw the celestial visitants, cried 
out, and said: "Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou 
wilt, let us make here three tabernacles : one for thee, one 
for Moses, and one for Elias." And Avhile he was yet speak- 
ing, behold a bright cloud, as oft on Sinai and Horeb, de- 
scended on "the mountain apart," and overshadowed them; 
and the still small voice which passed by Elijah when he 
stood in the clift of the rock on Horeb came out of the 
cloud, and said : " This is my beloved Son, in whom I am 
well pleased; hear ye him." Awed by the majesty of the 
voice, the apostles fell on their faces, and were sore afraid. 
Their Lord came and touched them; and when he said, 
"Arise, and be not afraid," they arose, and, opening their 
eyes, " saw no man, save Jesus only." Moses and Elias, 
having accomplished their mission, had vanished to their 
heavenly home. And this was the last view we have of 
Elijah the Tishbite. 

Down from the Mount of Transfiguration went the Christ 
— of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write — 
to meet the tempter alone in the conflicts of the garden, the 
pretorium of the Caesars, and the cross on Calvary. Alone 
he drank the bitter cup of the world's woes; alone he trod 
the wine-press of the fierce wrath of the Almighty Father ; 
alone he bore our sins in his own body on the tree ; alone 
he gave his soul an ofiering for the sins of the world; alone 
he endured the agonies of the crucifixion, cried " It is fin- 
ished ! " bowed his head, and gave up the ghost ; and alone 
he was laid away in the tomb. On the third day he rose 



FROM IIOBEB TO TABOIi. 399 

triumphant over death, hell, and the grave. Forty days lie 
Avas seen on earth, and then ascended in a bright cloud to 
heaven, leading captivity captive, and receiving gifts for 
men. Exalted to be a Prince and a Saviour, he is seated 
at the right-hand of God the Father Almighty, and thence 
shall return to judge the quick and the dead. At his name 
every knee shall bow, of things in heaven, and things on 
earth, and things under the earth. Declared to be the Son 
of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by 
the resurrection from the dead, and, according to the prom- 
ise of the Father, by the baptism of fire on Pentecost, he 
must reign until all enemies are put under his feet. Vic- 
torious over all Baalism, and over all his foes of every 
kind, he shall be crowned King of kings and Lord of 
LORDS. He shall descend from heaven with a shout, with 
the voice of the archangel and the trump of God, in flam- 
ing fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God and 
obey not "the still small voice" of his gospel. Every 
tongue shall confess that Jesus, both Lord and Christ, is 
over al], God blessed forever. And an assembled universe 
— angels and saints in heaven, devils and damned spirits 
of hell, both the willing and the unwilling — shall take up 
the echoes of old Car m el when the Lord God of Lsrael de- 
scended in fire upon the Tishbite's sacrifice, and with the 
voices of many waters, and with the voices of loud thun- 
ders, shout: "The God that answereth by fire, he 
IS THE God! he is the God!" Even so, Lord Jesus! 
Come quickly! Amen. 



The End. 



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